Merlin Protocol
by Nute224
Summary: When the new MoM Arthur Weasley's daughter was kidnapped he turned to the muggle government as a last resort. He had no idea the chain of events that request would set off.AU H/G
1. And So It Begins

Merlin Protocol

Nute

AN: Hello all this is my first ever fan fiction so I would appreciate reviews to know what you all think. Also i just want to say that I am not in the military so a lot of the terminology/info has been researched or just made up. So enjoy the story.

Disclaimer: I in no way own Harry Potter, itd be awesome if I did but alas i do not.

Aug. 13, 1998

It was a dark and dreary night in London with the last rays of sunlight having passed long ago unnoticed due to the ominous clouds advancing with the sporadic flash of lightning and rumble of thunder. This atmosphere was matched inside the Prime Minister's office where he was meeting with the current Minister of Magic, Arthur Weasley. Weasley had taken office just six months prior after his predecessor had faced a no confidence vote for his lack of response to Voldemort's return a year earlier. Since taking office he had taken a more aggressive stance against Voldemort by increasing the DMLE's funding and performing a shakedown at the Ministry which had successfully revealed that there were many spies among them. Unfortunately for Arthur Voldemort decided to respond by going after his family, and just three days earlier his youngest child, his daughter Ginny had been kidnapped and he was desperate to find her after those at the ministry proved useless. So desperate that he decided to look to the muggle world for help, it was for this reason that he was currently in the muggle Prime Minister's office at the moment.

"…so they have my daughter and all our attempts to find her have proven worthless. I don't know how much you were told about our world by our last Minister but I thought you might be able to help us...help me." Arthur finished his plea to the Prime minister not knowing what response to expect.

"Let me clarify, are you requesting the help of the British non-magical government to assist you in recovering your daughter and fighting this Lord Voldemort?"

"Yes! Yes! Please."

"Well then, I do believe that we can be of some help in your plight Mr. Weasley," the muggle Prime Minister said with a reassuring smile as he picked up the phone on his desk. He dialed the number he needed while across from him Arthur sat in stunned silence, astonished the muggles thought they could help, "Yes Major. I want you to ready your men; I'm officially initiating Merlin Protocol. You know what that means; I want a Special Projects ready within the hour and the rest in on standby. I will be sending more information shortly."

"What just happened?" Arthur Weasley asked in obvious confusion.

"Don't worry about that now, what you need to do is go home and be with your family we will take care of getting your daughter back."

"How? How are you going to do what wizards have been unable to?"

"You don't give us enough credit Arthur. We 'muggles' as you call us know more about your kind and world than you think. We have had plans for dealing with a wizarding enemy and prepared accordingly, but as I said that isn't important now. You need to get home, don't worry all will be explained later." Arthur Weasley just shook his head after the Prime Minister finished and stood up making his way to the fireplace.

"Thank You for whatever you can do," he said as he pinched some powder out of a container he had been carrying and threw it into the fireplace. With a final shout of "The Burrow" he spun away into the roaring green flame leaving the Prime Minister alone in his office.

Meanwhile in Hereford at the headquarters for the British Special Air Service Major John Taylor of the 22nd SAS hung up the phone as a grin slowly crept across his face. Picking the phone up again he dialed his next in command, "Mobilize special projects I want Kilo 1 ready and in the briefing room in 30, have the rest of the regiment on standby." Hanging up the phone the major contemplated the situation that they were in. The government had known about the wizarding world and their Lord Voldemort for years and had decided to stay out of it, but they had also prepared for the event that they had to face magical enemies. That led to the creation of the Special Projects team, a squad of all magical SAS members that were highly trained in both magical and non-magical combat. Getting up and leaving his office the major headed towards the briefing room to meet the object of his previous contemplation. Opening the door he was greeted with the four man team standing at attention waiting for him, "At ease men, the reason you have been called here is because the Prime Minister has initiated Merlin protocol which means…"

"That we're facing a magical enemy sir!" exclaimed Jake Williams, the team's radio operator, a stocky man in his mid twenties with short brown hair and a mischievous gaze on his face.

"Exactly we have been tasked with rescuing the Minister of Magic's daughter Ginerva Weasley seen here," he said motioning to the screen at the front of the room. "Our Intel places her at this building known as Lestrange Manor," the screen changed to a split of an ariel view of the manor and the buildings blueprints "... we believe they are holding her in the dungeons of the manor. So here is the plan, your team is going to insert one klick from the manor and advance there on foot, you are to infiltrate the manor dispatching of any enemies and recover the package intact. From there you will be extracted by helicopter and you are to escort her back to her family home in Ottery St. Catchpole. Any questions?"

"Sir what is the number of expected hostiles?" asked Frank Brown a dark skinned man in his early thirties who was well over 6' with a well built frame and a bald head.

"That is currently unknown but be ready for anything; Kilo 2 will be providing back-up after you have breached the building. If that is all then fall out dust-off in 15 minutes so get to the airfield."

"Sir!" all four men yelled saluting the major before leaving the room. Gathering their bags they moved to the airfield strapping on their body armor and weapons while double and triple checking their gear.

"Alright guys this is what we've been training for, you all have your jobs see to it that they get done." Said Connor Murphy the squad's leader, an average sized man in his late thirties with black hair, a fierce gaze and an air of confidence that seemed to inspire his men. "You ready for this Peters?" He asked the youngest and newest member of the team Henry Peters; at 18 he was about 6' with short cut black hair striking emerald eyes and an odd discoloration on his forehead that seemed to be a birthmark.

"Yes Sir! This is what I've been training for." He exclaimed with exuberance.

"That's what I like to hear, remember eliminate all hostiles, retrieve the package intact and come back alive." Murphy said sincerely looking from man to man trying to convey the importance of his words.

"Ah don't worry captain this will be fun." Jake said with a grin on his face. Connor just shook his head as he slung his pack over his shoulder and climbed into the helicopter that was waiting to take them to their task. The rest of his men climbed on board preparing to take off as the major came to say his final words to the men.

"Good luck men and remember, who dares wins!" with that the major backed away from the helicopter as it began lifting of the ground moving forward leaving the base in the distance as the men settled in for the ride to their objective.

Saying that Ginny Weasley was having a rough couple days would be an understatement, three days ago while running errands in the Diagon Alley she had been abducted by two Death Eaters and portkeyed away before she could make a sound. Since then she had been at the mercy of two of the most notorious Death Eaters, Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange. In that time she had been tortured routinely for information about her family and the Ministry. Refusing to give in for three days had taken its toll on Ginny and she wasn't sure how much longer she would be able to hold out, as she was thinking this the door to the cell she was in opened and in walked a smirking Lucius Malfoy followed by three other Death Eaters who she didn't recognize. "I'm surprised Weasley, I didn't expect you to last this long but don't you worry we have other ways of 'convincing' you," he finished leering at her with a lustful gaze that chilled her to her core.

"Oh yea, I'm not so sure about that. I mean I don't know if you're 'up' to the task," while on the outside she appeared in total control inside was a totally different story. _Oh my god what am I saying Please! Don't let this happen. Help me! Please anybody help! _She thought as soon as the words left her mouth. Lucius sent her a furious gaze as he walked to her and slapped her with the back of his hand, the rings he was wearing tearing into her skin.

"Oh really," he said as she fell to the ground, yanking her head up by her hair she let out a gasp of pain. "We will just have to see how wrong you are, you three stand guard at the door and no one is to interrupt me." The three other figures in the room left through the door and closed it with a thud, _Oh shit this is not good _ran through Ginny's mind as Lucius turned around to focus back on her. "Where were we," he said smoothly while unbuttoning his shirt "I've been waiting for a chance to get back at you blood traitors for a long time, I'm going to enjoy this." As he came next to her reaching forward to rip at her shirt the sound of the door opening and something hitting the ground caused him to turn around, "what did I tell you about dist-"he paused when he saw an odd metal canister, it was at that very moment that said canister exploded with a blinding flash of light and a deafening 'BANG'. The explosion caused Malfoy to drop to the ground clutching his ears and Ginny's ears to ring as her vision began to dim with blackness creeping in, the last thing she saw before passing out was the door being kicked open and the most oddly dressed men she had ever seen barging in.

Henry Peters, or as he was known in the world we was entering Harry Potter, was sitting in the door of the helicopter that he was currently flying in on his way to his first official operation. With butterflies creeping into his stomach he thought about the task they were about to embark on, there were lives at stake, innocent lives and he would be damned if he was going to allow any to get hurt. His face settled in grim determination as he heard the call of 'one minute' ring in his ear signaling for them to prepare to exit. Checking his armor and extra supplies strapped to his body he loaded a magazine into his H&K MP5, the chosen weapon for close quarters fighting, and cocked it. With a signal from Murphy, Henry threw the rope in front of him out of the door and pulled his goggles down over his eyes and raised his shemag to cover the rest of his face. "Go! Go! Go!" yelled Murphy signaling his men to rope out of the helicopter, Henry grasped the rope in front of him shifting out from the safety of the helicopter falling rapidly towards the earth. As soon as his boots touched the ground Henry drew his rifle up clearing the direction that he was facing looking for any enemies. Seeing empty forest he lowered his weapon turning towards the other members of his team to see what was next.

"Ok team we have one kilometer to the manor so let's get moving, maintain light and noise discipline." With those final instructions from Murphy the four men began to traverse the land between them and their objective. After roughly ten minutes the forest around them began to clear as an extravagant manor sprawled out before them. "Control this is kilo 1-1 we have the manor in sight, proceeding to breach will update when package secured." Connor spoke into this headset relaying the situation to their commanders.

"Roger that Kilo 1-1 proceed as planned; you are advised to restrict force to non magical for this mission. Also we have received intel that there is a possible tier one target codename 'Lucy" on the premises, you are to capture that target if at all possible over!" A voice replied in their ears as they slowly moved forward to the main door of the manor. Henry found it odd that there were not any guards on the grounds, but he attributed it to the arrogance of purebloods that placed too much trust in their wards. Arriving at the door the team spit each standing off to one side of the door, checking the door Henry found it unlocked. Signaling to his team he turned the doorknob slowly opening the door while drawing his weapon in front of him. Entering the manor with his team behind him Henry moved to where he knew the entrance to the dungeons were, turning the corner he saw a figure dressed in all black robes turned away from him. Aiming down the sights of his rifle he centered on the figure at the end of the hall and squeezed the trigger rapidly sending three projectiles at the enemy. The figure at the end of the hall dropped with a 'thud' with no one the wiser thanks to the suppressor on his weapon masking the noise it made. Moving forward the team came to the body as Frank bent down checking for a pulse, finding none he signaled for the team to continue to the entrance to the dungeons as he dragged the body into a nearby closet. Coming to the bottom of the stairs leading to the dungeons Henry heard voices, coming to a halt motioning for his team to do the same he strained to listen.

"I hope he would hurry up I'm trying to get my turn with that Weasley bitch." One of the voices said causing Henry's blood to run cold.

"What are you talking about I have next, now go upstairs and check on Avery he's been gone a while." The other ordered Henry could hear the grumble of the first voice making his way towards them. Lowering his rifle he drew his knife waiting for the man to come around the corner. As soon as the figure came into view Henry clapped his hand over his mouth muffling his shout of surprise as he plunged his knife into his side effectively ending the man's life. Dragging the man back into the shadows of the stairway Henry watched Jake and Frank move around the corner and he heard the subdued sounds of their rifles followed by the thud of the body on the ground.

"Stack up, flash and clear," Murphy whispered to his men as they came to the door where they could hear voices coming from.

"… I'm going to enjoy this." Henry heard the voice through the door way, he heard the tearing of cloth as he was opening the door slightly tossing a flash bang into the room then slamming the door closed again.

'BANG' with that sound Henry kicked the door causing it to fly off the hinges, coming into the room he broke off to the right securing his sector of the room. Not finding any threats he turned his attention to the center of the room where a man with long platinum hair was laying on the ground slowly recovering not far from the unconscious form of a teenage girl with fiery red hair covered with dirty clothes and sporting multiple injuries. "Peters secure the package, Williams secure that prisoner be sure to check him for his wand and portkeys then bind his hands, Brown set the charges let's leave a little surprise for whoever may come after us," Murphy instructed his men as he adjusted his radio to report to his commanders. "Control this is kilo 1-1 mission status is as follows, the package has been secured injured but intact, we have captured the tier one target codename 'Lucy' and eliminated three hostiles in the process over." Henry heard Murphy making the report as he made his way to the form of the unconscious girl, checking her for injuries he bandaged what needed to be deciding that she wasn't seriously injured.

"Copy that Kilo 1-1 mission accomplished, proceed out of the manor with the package and the prisoner to the exfil point where a helicopter is waiting to take you to the package's home where there will be a medic waiting. You are to wait there for further instruction, over" The voice rang in all of their ear's as Henry prepared to move the girl while Jake and Frank had handcuffed the prisoner and placed a black bag over his head.

"Rodger control Kilo 1-1 out." Murphy ended his transmission and turned to see his men waiting, ready to move. "Jake get that prisoner up; keep a close eye on him. Peters your gonna have to carry the package to the extraction point."

"Rodger boss I got her."

"Ok guys lets go. Kilo 2-1 this is Kilo 1-1 mission complete were oscar mike, proceed to extraction." Murphy spoke to the backup team as he was moving through the door with his weapon raised prepared for any surprises that may come their way.

The team exited the manor with Murphy in the lead followed by Jake with his hand guiding the bound and blindfolded form of Lucius Malfoy behind him Henry exited with the unconscious form of Ginny Weasley in his arms and Frank behind him providing security. As they left the grounds of the manor they came to an open field that had a helicopter along with the other team waiting for them. "Bout time you lot showed up, let's get the fuck out of here," the other team's leader spoke up as they came closer.

"How about you shut your trap and help us secure this prisoner, Peters lay the package on the stretcher in the helicopter then everybody load up. Henry nodded to Murphy as he made his way to the helicopter, laying the body in his arms on the stretcher that was layed out in the helicopter he took a closer look at her and couldn't help but think how beautiful she was. _What am I saying she is our objective; I have to stay detached from these people to do what needs to be done. _He stepped into the helicopter sitting beside the stretcher making sure to keep watch over the girl he had been sent to rescue. No matter what he tried to think he couldn't shake a sense of protectiveness he had for the girl laying next to him. After the rest of the men had loaded into the helicopter and Lucius had been secured the helicopter slowly took off taking them in the direction of Ginny's home, The Burrow.

After an hour in the air the pilot signaled that they were five minutes from their destination so the men began to prepare for their departure from the helicopter. When the Burrow came into sight the pilot began lowering the craft to land in the pasture that was located behind the house. Throwing open the door Henry jumped out of the helicopter scanning his surroundings even though they were supposed to be in friendly territory, instincts are hard to deny. "Ok Kilo 2 I want you to return to Hereford with the prisoner my team has been instructed to remain here." he heard his captain tell the other team as he was turning back to the helicopter. He grabbed one end of the stretcher that Ginny was currently laying on, lifting it out of the door Frank grabbed the other side as they began moving towards the house in the distance. The two other members of the team climbed out of the helicopter and came to flank the two carrying the stretcher. As the group made their way towards the house they saw the door fly open and a large group of people come running out of the door, Henry noticed that many of them shared the same fiery hair color as Ginny so he guessed that they would be her family. The group that rushed out of the house came to a halt upon seeing the men before them who had their daughter. They eyed the intimidating weapons and equipment the men possessed as well as their faces hidden behind their goggles and some sort of scarf, the sight before them frightened them but the need to get to Ginny overcame the fear as they rushed forward again. As they came closer to the strange men one stepped ahead of the rest as he lowered the cloth covering his face and lifting his goggles to reveal his rigid features and fierce gaze. "Arthur Weasley?" he spoke.

"Yes that's me please tell me is my daughter alright?" Arthur said as he stepped forward extending his hand to the man.

"Don't worry she's fine we were told there would be a medic here so we should get her looked at just to be safe." Connor stated trying to reassure the man in front of them.

"Yes, yes of course take her inside the healer is in the kitchen waiting."

"Peters, Brown take the package into the house, Williams I want you on patrol around the house radio me if anything unusual happens copy?" Murphy directed his gaze to his men seeking confirmation, the men nodded to him as they broke off to complete their duties. As most of the group broke off moving quickly to the house Murphy turned back to Arthur "Mr. Weasley I am Captain Connor Murphy we have been ordered to remain here until further notice. We do not intend to intrude on you and your family but will need access to all areas of your property to provide effective security."

"Of course you're no trouble at all! You rescued my Ginny, there is no way I can repay my debt to you and your men but enough of that for now please come in and meet my family." Arthur said this in obvious joy as the realization of the night set in, he had his only daughter back safe. The two made their way to the house entering through the back door. Entering the room Connor saw a collection of people sitting around the table in obvious worry, the youngest redhead was sitting with what appeared to be a curly brown bush in his arms but was actually a girl he held in his arms. Next to them sat a set of redheaded twins who were staring blankly into the space in front of them, finally there was a shabby looking man in his late thirties who wore a tired look on his face that matched the state of his clothes. "Ok let's see this in my youngest son Ron and his girlfriend Hermione, next to them is the twins Fred and George and finally is Remus Lupin a family friend. Everybody this is Captain Connor Murphy, he and his team are the ones who rescued Ginny." Connor gave a slight nod to the occupants of the room as he turned to Arthur.

"Excuse me for a second I need to check in with my team," Arthur nodded to him and went to sit at the table. "Kilo 1-4 this is Kilo 1-1 what is your status over?"

"This is Kilo 1-4 the package is safe and secure no lasting damage. Kilo 1-3 and I are heading back to your location over." The voice of Henry Peters crackled over the radio.

"Rodger proceed to my location, Kilo 1-2 what is your status?"

"Kilo 1-1 this is Kilo 1-2 all is quiet out here the perimeter is secure."

"Copy that 1-2 proceed to the house to regroup and await further orders."

"Rodger that proceeding to house now." As the static of the radio died down Murphy heard the sound of his men exiting a room up the crooked staircase and begin their descent to the kitchen. Henry and Frank entered the kitchen with Mrs. Weasley following closely behind them, when she stepped of the stairs she made her way to Arthur.

"Oh Arthur our baby is home, I can't believe it." The Weasley matriarch spoke as she came to Arthur allowing him to wrap her up in his arms.

"I know Molly I can't believe it either, how is she?"

"Madam Pomfrey said that she would be fine in a couple of days with no permanent damage, she is asleep right now." As Molly said this the entire room seemed to sag in relief at the news that Ginny was going to be ok. Turning to the three men Molly asked, "Who are you? I can never thank you for what you have done for me and my family tonight."

"Hello Mrs. Weasley my name is Captain Connor Murphy" Connor spoke as he reached forward to shake her hand; he then looked to his men motioning for them to introduce themselves. Both men lowered the cloth around their faces leaving their faces open for the occupants of the kitchen to see.

"Pleasure to meet you Mrs. Weasley I'm lieutenant Frank Brown" Frank Spoke as he also shook the woman's hand then turning to Arthur shaking his as well, giving a not to the other people in the room he stepped back in line with his team.

"And I'm lieutenant Henry Peters, it's nice to meet all of you," Henry spoke shaking the Weasley parents hands then he looked at the occupants of the table in turn. He was unnerved by the gaze he was receiving from the man at the end of the table, "Is everything alright Mr.…" he spoke directing a fierce gaze at the man.

"Lupin and yes everything is fine we are all grateful for what you did. It's just your eyes remind me of someone that I once knew, I gave me a shock." Remus spoke as he looked away from the man.

"Well now that that's done please take a seat I'll whip up something to eat you all must be starving." Mrs. Weasley spoke breaking the awkward silence that had settled in the room. The three men looked at each other all deciding that the prospect of food was appealing.

"Thank you Mrs. Weasley that would be fantastic." Connor spoke with Henry and Frank nodding their heads in agreement. As the men made their way to the table they began unstrapping the heavy vests that they were wearing accepting that they were in safe territory. They sat at the table with their gear beside them and their weapons leaning against the table. After checking that the safety on his weapon was engaged Henry looked up seeing the gaze of the others at the table on him and his team.

"Who are you all? I recognize some of your equipment from books about the British Army but you don't look like regular soldiers." The girl the bushy brown hair asked the three men at the table.

"Your right we're not regular soldiers, me and my team are members of the 22nd SAS or the Special Air Service." He looked around noticing the confused looks of some of the people around the table, "That means were the best of the best, we are trained for years to deal with situations like the one tonight."

"But your only muggles, how can you beat magic with those weapons?" This time it was the youngest redhead that spoke up.

"What makes you so sure that we're muggles?" Henry asked taking over for Connor.

"Well you obviously didn't go to Hogwarts as you look like you would have been close to us and school, and I haven't seen any of you do any magic since you've been here." Ron replied

"Your right I didn't go to Hogwarts but that's not the only magical school in the world, as for magic…" as he said this he raised his hand over the table lifting the glass that was sitting in front of him to hover over the table. Henry smirked at the shocked faces of everybody in the room.

"Peters that's enough." Connor barked at Henry, the glass lowered back to the table as Henry looked sheepishly at his leader.

"Sorry boss too hard to pass up. Besides Mr. Weasley, it's just as easy to die from a bullet as from a killing curse" The other occupants of the kitchen were still sitting with shocked looks on their faces; Hermione was the first to snap out of it her expression shifting to intense curiosity. As the others returned to reality, Mrs. Weasley rushing back to the stove to check on the cooking food, Hermione opened her mouth to try and satisfy her curiosity.

"If you didn't go to Hogwarts where did you go? How did you do that? I thought wandless magic was supposed to be impossible." Hermione rattled of these questions in record time pausing to catch her breath.

"I'm sorry Ms…"

"Granger."

"… Granger but I'm afraid that the answers to those questions are classified as of now." Henry spoke relieved that he wouldn't have to reveal all of his secrets.

"Oh..." Hermione spoke her eyes downcast in disappointment.

"Ok everybody foods ready dig in, I'm going to go check on Ginny again." Mrs. Weasley said as she levitated the multitude of dishes onto the table then exiting up the stairs again. As the people around the table began to dig in to the food the door opened and Jake Williams walked in from outside.

"Williams take a seat and get something to eat, everybody this is Lieutenant Jake Williams," Connor spoke turning back to his meal as Jake took of his gear and sat next to Henry. The next few minutes was filled with the sound of utensils on plate as they ate in silence, a silence which was broken by the sound of someone coming through the fireplace. The four team members immediately reached for the weapons standing from the table raising them towards the doorway to the kitchen. After a hew tense seconds an elderly man with the longest white beard they had ever seen walked in wearing light blue robes with stars scattered across them. The men lowered their weapons slightly noticing the familiar expression on the others faces; the old man scanned the faces of the men with the strange muggle weapons his gaze coming to rest on Henry.

"Ah there you are I must say that even I thought your death possible you can't hide your magical signature… Harry."


	2. You Have To Be Quick

Merlin Protocol

Chapter 2

Nute

"…Harry," as the old man finished speaking several things happened at once. The people around the table wore shocked expressions as the implications of the man's words hit them, at the same time all four men raised their weapons again stepping back from the table knocking over their chairs in the process. Coming to form a semicircle around the new figure in the room the men kept their weapons on the man as Henry spoke.

"I'm not sure what you're on about old man but you must be mistaken my name isn't Harry." His voice carried an air of finality as he finished speaking but the old man just smiled at them with an odd twinkling in his eye.

"As I said **Harry** you can't mask your magic from me, I knew as soon as I stepped out of the fireplace." This statement did nothing to ease the tense soldiers as the standoff continued until the fireplace came to life again depositing another person into the house.

"Lower your weapons now!" The voice of Major Taylor rang out over the room snapping the men out of their stance as the lowered their weapons.

"Sir!" four voices rang out as they snapped to attention when their superior walked into the room.

"At ease men. Now everyone take a seat at the table we have much to discuss." The voice of the Major spoke with a commanding tone that had all of the occupants of the room moving to take a seat as he had said. "Good now let me introduce myself, I am Major John Taylor it's a pleasure to meet you Minister," he said nodding to Arthur then turning to Dumbledore "…and you Headmaster. Now I'm sure all of you have many questions that I will attempt to answer. Keep in mind though that some information is classified and I will not be able to discuss it. Now Headmaster I will only say this once, Harry Potter is dead. I will try to answer any other questions I can now" As Taylor finished speaking Henry noticed that the old man's eyes had resumed that damned twinkling but the man didn't challenge what the major had said.

"Yes umm... Major was it? I was wondering what you and your men were doing tonight interfering in magical affairs when you work for the muggle government?" Dumbledore asked in a condescending tone that caused the Major to smirk at the man.

"Yes I thought that would be first. We are here Headmaster because your Minister came to our government requesting our help in recovering his daughter and fighting this Lord Voldemort. In doing so he initiated a little known clause in the original treaty between the magical and non-magical world. This clause stated that if a conflict in the wizarding world ever got so severe that they had to request the help of the non magical government for aid that the non magical government has the right to seize control of the magical government until the conflict was finished." At this statement there were gasps of shock from around the table as they looked to Arthur for his reaction, he opened his mouth to respond but the major continued speaking before he could. "But…we feel that the current magical government is competent just suffering for the mistakes of the past. So we have decided to allow the Ministry of Magic to continue running the show but our men will take the primary role in fighting Voldemort's forces until we can get some of your people trained." Sighs of relief came from many of the rooms occupants at that statement. Dumbledore looked at the major opening his mouth to ask:

"What do you mean by training and how will your men fight effectively against a magical enemy?"

"We have been planning for this event since the first reign of Voldemort, we began specially preparing a special squadron of the SAS these 64 men are going to be the main fighting force with the rest of the 22nd SAS in reserve for support. The men in this squadron, four of whom are sitting before you, have been trained to fight a magical force. While only the soldiers here are magical the rest have been educated in magical knowledge and theory so they know what to expect going into this fight. We have also worked with wizards to create special gear for these men that help to even out the odds." Taylor finished looking to the assembled group for other questions.

"What kind of equipment?" the voice of Hermione spoke from beside Ron.

"Sorry Ms. Granger but that is one of those things that are classified. As for training Headmaster we plan to begin preparing your worlds aurors in more effective combat tactics as opposed to the mainly law enforcement training that they receive now, but that is a discussion for another time. Now I believe that is enough questions for now, Murphy I want you and your men here until further notice to provide security, take 30 minutes to return to Hereford and get cleaned up and packed for an extended stay." Taylor spoke to his men receiving a nod from Murphy as he and his men got up from the table grabbing their gear as they made their way to the fireplace, after they had all departed the Major turned back to Arthur. "Minister Weasley I don't mean to intrude on your hospitality, but as you are the leader of the magical government and we have already seen that Voldemort wants to go after your family we feel it would be best if we had a team stationed here just in case."

"Of course that's no trouble at all we have enough room for all of the men and it would give me peace of mind that everyone is safe." Arthur finished directing an appreciative look to the major.

"Well I must be leaving, tonight has been most informative thank you for your time major. Molly give young Ginerva my best when she awakens," Dumbledore said before taking his leave through the fireplace.

"I'm afraid I also have other matters to attend to; expect my men to be coming through the floo shortly." Taylor spoke as he stood up; shaking the adults' hands he made for the fireplace with a final nod to the assembled group. After he was gone there was a short silence before:

"Well that-"

"Was interesting" The twins finally spoke up finishing each other's thoughts.

"Do you really think that he's Harry Potter?" Hermione said to the others.

"I think we should just take the major's word but enough of that, off to bed everybody it is very late," Mr. Weasley spoke noticing the late hour. As the kids left the kitchen Arthur looked to his wife, "I can't believe all of this, I'm so grateful for all these people have done."

"Me too Arthur, I'm going to go prepare the empty rooms for our guests." Molly gave one last smile to her husband as she made her way up the stairs. Arthur sat in silence for some time contemplating the events of the night. Eventually he heard the tell tale sign of the floo flaring to life as their guests were deposited in the living room. Standing up Arthur saw the four men from earlier walk in the kitchen dressed in fatigues each carrying a large pack on their back with their weapons slung over their shoulders.

"Ah welcome back we are more than happy to have you all here, my wife is currently preparing rooms for you. I'm afraid that two of you will have to share."

"That's perfect Mr. Weasley. Ok guys I want at least one person on watch at all times, Peters your first take watch until the morning. Everyone else it's been a long night so follow Arthur to where we'll be staying and get some sleep." Connor stopped Frank as he was leaving the kitchen to whisper in his ear, Frank nodded his head and went back into the kitchen with Henry. Seeing his questioning look Frank said:

"Damage control, thanks to the wise professor I now have to obliviate them so they don't remember his claims." Frank saw Henry relax slightly showing that he had been worried about Dumbledore's outburst. "Have fun," with that Frank made his way up the stairs.

After Frank was gone, Henry sat his pack down in the kitchen and left through the door leading outside to secure the perimeter. Pausing to let the cool night air wash over him Henry reached into his pocket withdrawing a pack of cigarettes, placing one in his mouth he brought his hand up touching the tip with a finger sending a pulse of magic through his body causing the end to flare red as smoke began to rise. Blowing out a cloud of smoke, he continued to walk the perimeter of the Weasley's land, as he walked he thought over the events of the day. _I killed men today. But I also saved a life, and that is all that matters. They chose their path now they will have to face the consequences._ Finishing his thoughts, he closed his fist around the remains of his spent cigarette, opening his empty hand he shook off some stray ash as he came to sit on the house's porch. _I can't imagine what that girl went through, and from the way it appeared we came just in time to spare her an even greater pain. I wonder how she will handle all of this. _Henry sat there for some time with thoughts of the beautiful redhead they had rescued running through his head, finally with a determined expression he got up and moved into the house. Making his way through the house silently, he headed up the stairs coming to the first landing and the closed door leading to where he knew Ginny was resting. Coming to a stop in front of the door he paused straining to listen for any sounds he could hear, hearing a faint whimper he leaned closer to hear another whimper coming from the room in front of him. Making his decision he reached for the doorknob slowly opening the door, seeing the restless form of Ginny tossing on her bed he laid his weapon against the wall as he came to the bed. Sitting on the edge of the bed he tentatively reached for Ginny his hand touching her back. At this contact, Ginny spun around and lunged forward clinging to Henry. With a shocked expression on his face he brought his arms slowly around Ginny holding her as he began to whisper soothing words into her ear. Eventually she was lulled back into slumber by the comforting presence of the man holding her. Once he was sure she was asleep Henry set her back down in her bed as he saw the first rays of sun begin to creep through the window in the room. After drawing the curtains so the girl could get some much needed rest he made his way out of the room slinging his weapon over his shoulder once more. Coming down the stairs he made his way out to the porch once more to finish out the rest of his watch. Not long after he sat down his team leader opened the door with the other members following behind him. "Morning Peters anything important last night."

"No sir it's been all quiet out here." Henry replied directing his tired gaze to his squad.

"Good get inside and get some sleep we have it from here, upstairs second floor on the left." As Murphy was speaking, Henry stood up nodding to his team as he went back into the house. Picking up his pack in the kitchen, he made his way up the stairs pausing at the first floor to listen again, not hearing any noises coming from the room he continued to the second floor. Walking into the room on the left he stripped to his boxers and slipped into the bed allowing sleep to finally overcome him.

It was dark that was the first thing that he noticed as his eyes opened to the world around him. _What the hell this isn't where I went to sleep_ Henry was jolted out of his thoughts by a loud banging coming from the door directly to his right; _oh no I know where I am now. _The slot on the door was opened letting a beam of light assault his eyes, squinting at the sudden light Henry heard the voice he was hoping to never hear again. "Get up you bloody ungrateful freak! Today's the day; yes today we will finally be rid of your presence." His uncle spoke in a gleeful tone as the door was thrown open and a hand thrust forward grabbing him around the neck. After he was thrown against the wall coming to rest on the ground Henry looked down at his 5 year old body. Seeing the edges of angry black and blue bruises creeping out from the areas his too large clothes covered. Thinking back to his time at the Dursley's all Henry could remember was pain and misery, that is except for this day which would always remain in his memory. Snapped out of his thoughts by a slap to the face from his uncle he heard, "Get your lazy arse outside and in my car now you freak."

"Yes uncle Vernon." Henry heard the voice coming from his mouth even though he had not said it, it seemed he was stuck in this memory watching it playback as it had happened. Walking out of the house Henry came to stand beside his uncle's car.

"In the back you worthless piece of shite." Climbing into the car his uncle started it and began to drive to and unknown destination. As minutes turned into hours, the scenery of London could be seen outside the windows as the car came to a halt. "Ok now get out."

"What?"

"I said get out NOW!" with that Vernon shoved the small boy out of the car before closing the door shut and slamming on the gas causing the car to accelerate rapidly leaving the confused boy in its rear view mirror. After staring off in the direction his uncle had just went for some time Henry turned around examining his surroundings his eyes coming to rest on the ominous building before him. Looking at the sign above the doorway Henry was able to read _St. Mary's Orphanage._

Henry was jolted out of his nightmare by a hand shaking his shoulder to see a figure looming over him in the darkness of the room, reaching for the pistol kept under his pillow the figure grabbed his hand quickly. "Easy Henry it's me, time to get up we've got bad guys to kill." The familiar voice of Jake Williams caused Henry to relax as his arm was released.

"Christ don't wake me up like that I almost killed you." Henry replied irately as he sat up stretching his sore muscles.

"As if I had the drop on you and you know it, now get your ass up and downstairs geared up in 15." Seeing Henry nod in acceptance Jake made his way out of the room leaving him to get ready. After he was dressed Henry grabbed his vest and weapon as he made his way down the stairs. On his way down he saw Mrs. Weasley exiting Ginny's room:

"How is she?" he asked coming to stand on the landing.

"Wonderful she should be physically healed by tomorrow all thanks to you."

"I was only doing my job Mrs. Weasley," with that, he continued down the stairs with Mrs. Weasley beaming at the man walking away from her. As he walked into the kitchen he saw his teammates as well as Ron, Hermione and the twins.

"Peters how kind of you to join us," Murphy spoke sarcastically seeing Henry walk into the room.

"Sorry boss I got held up." Coming into the kitchen Henry set his weapon down as he began to strap his armor and gear onto his body.

"Quite alright my boy now here's the situation, intelligence has placed two tier one targets in the same compound and command has decided that this situation is too good to pass up. The targets and the layout of the compound are in the folders in front of you." Henry picked up his folder flipping through it to see the faces of Amycus and Alecto Carrow starring out from the photographs. "Now the intelligence places a group of 20-30 low level hostiles with the targets. Here is the plan; we will the inserted one click to the east with Kilo 2 and 3 coming from the north and the west. From the insertion point we will proceed to the compound, after all three teams are in place we will hit the three entrances simultaneously using the element of surprise and speed to overwhelm the enemy. Memorize the faces in that folder they are to be taken alive, the rest are to be eliminated. The rest of the details are in the folder, any questions?" Murphy finished his primary looking to his men seeing grim determination set on their faces, turning to the other occupants of the room he saw looks ranging from awe to fear at the talk of the soldiers. "A reserve team will be placed outside of the house for security while we are away." He said this bringing the others back to reality as they nodded to him. "Now we're flooing to Hereford to catch a chopper to the target so let's get to it." Connor placed his helmet on his head securing the clasp, picking up his rifle he went to the fireplace with his men following behind him.

Once they were at Hereford, the team went to the airfield where the other teams taking part in the mission were preparing to board the helicopters. Climbing aboard the team settled in for the ride to their target. When they reached their destination Henry once again rechecked his gear before tossing the rope out of the door and descending to the ground. The team regrouped on the ground and moved off in the direction of their target. When the large three story buildings their targets were in came into view the team came to a halt at the edge of the wooded area surrounding it. "Kilo 2-1, Kilo 3-1 this is Kilo 1-1 we are in position what is your status?" Murphy spoke into his mouthpiece.

"This is Kilo 2-1 we are in position awaiting for go or no-go over."

"This is Kilo 3-1 we're ready just give the word."

"Control this is Kilo 1-1 we are a go, preparing to breach target over."

"Rodger Kilo 1-1 proceed as planned and update as needed." When the crackle of the radio died in their ears Murphy motioned for his team to move up to the door they were to breach. Coming to the door Frank withdrew four cylindrical explosive charges from his pack placing them in a square on the door in front of them. Moving to the side of the door Murphy whispered into the radio:

"Charges set," the team heard the two squelches over the radio in response meaning that the others were set. "Go in 5…4…3…-…-" As the countdown reached zero Frank squeezed the trigger on the detonator he held detonating the charges on the door causing it to blast forward off its hinges crushing the body of the man that had been standing in front of it. With the door gone Henry rushed forward leading his team into the building, upon entering he saw the body under the door laying in a pool of blood and the three other figures stirring on the ground getting back to their feet. Seeing the threat Henry raised his rifle squeezing the trigger releasing a rapid spray of bullets speeding at the dazed target, as the body dropped in front of him Henry heard the shots coming from his sides as the other figures were dropped to the floor. Advancing into the building the sounds of shouted spells and gunfire could be heard in the distance, coming to a corner Henry paused before looking around the corner only to quickly withdraw it as the hallway lit up with the vivid green flash of multiple killing curses being fired at him. The spells slammed into the wall behind them causing pieces of wood and concrete to fly forward. "Frank why don't you show these boys what a muggle grenade can do," Murphy spoke with a grin creeping on his face feeling the rush of the adrenaline coursing through his system.

"Delighted to boss," with that Frank pulled the pin on a grenade from his vest waiting a few seconds before tossing it down the hallway where spells were still flying at them. 'BOOM!' when the rain of debris settled Henry turned the corner seeing the destruction caused by the explosion evident by the destroyed walls and body parts strewn about. Pulling his shemag tighter around his face to block the putrid smell that had settled in the area Henry continued down the hallway.

"This is Kilo 3-1 we have code name 'Amy' secured preparing for exfil." Hearing the call over the radio spurred the team on to find the other target. Coming to a stairway at the end of the hall they moved up to the third floor to continue their search. Exiting the stairway Henry turned the corner not seeing the bolt of angry yellow energy flying at him until it struck him in the leg slicing a deep cut into his thigh. Biting back a hiss of pain he fell back into the stairway as Jake grabbed him and Frank leaned out to return fire. After he had a bandage around his leg and Frank was satisfied that the threat was gone Jake helped Henry back to his feet before the continued on with Frank in the lead. Coming to the last room on the third floor the team stood on each side of the door. With a signal from Murphy Frank opened the door tossing a flash bang into the room, after the loud bang the team rushed the room. Henry, bringing up the rear heard the sound of gunfire coming from his teammates entering the room, as he came into the room he saw the bodies of two Death Eater and their second target on the other side of the room maintaining a shield that had blocked the initial shots. With his teams weapons trained on the man Connor stepped forward with his hands raised in peace.

"Give it up there's no way you're making it out of here."

"That's where your wrong you filthy muggle you will all pay when my master finds out about th-" the man's rant was halted as he had let his shield falter allowing Connor to snatch the man's wand before driving his elbow into his face rendering him unconscious.

"Brown secure the prisoner, Williams make sure Peters is ready to move. This is Kilo 1-1 we have the code name 'Alec' secure all teams fall back for extraction." Turning back to his men Connor motioned for them to move out as they fell in line behind him with Frank leading the prisoner and Jake supporting a limping Henry. When the team reached the first floor they exited out the same door that they entered in heading to the open pasture on the north side of the building where they knew the helicopter would be waiting. As the team came to the pasture they saw the waiting aircraft and the other two teams boarding their helicopters. Coming to theirs Frank pushed the prisoner in first securing him for the ride before getting on himself. After him Jake helped Henry get on sitting down with his injured leg laid out before him. After the team was onboard the helicopter it began to rise into the air for the trip back to Hereford.

Once on the ground again the team split with Connor and Frank taking the prisoner to the sturdy cells that had been constructed to house their 'guests'. At the same time Jake was helping Henry make his way to the bases infirmary. Entering the room Henry's nose twinged at the distinct sterile smell native to hospitals, _God how I hate hospitals_. The doctor rushed to them helping Henry sit on a bed, "This looks deep I'll have to stitch it up." As the doctor said this a grimace came on to Henry's face as Jake gave him a sympathetic look knowing that they would have to play along. With a nod from Henry the doctor began to sew the slice in his leg closed, after the wound was stitched and bandaged the pair left the infirmary saying farewell to the doctor.

"Damn 30 stitches that was a hell of a hit you took back there." Jake spoke as they made their way back outside to regroup with their team.

"I know not sure what happened, I just wish they had some magical healers on the base so it wouldn't take as long or be nearly as painful."

"You and me both," Jake finished speaking as they came to where Connor and Frank were waiting.

"You alright there Henry?" Connor asked seeing the slight limp that remained in his step.

"Be right as rain in a day or two boss."

"Good now let's get back to the Weasley's house, hopefully we've seen all the excitement in store for us today." When Connor finished speaking he turned and moved towards the building that housed the bases floo connection. Coming to the fireplace the team went into the flames one at a time before it was only Henry in the room, with a final glance around him Henry tossed a bit of powder into the fireplace. Stepping into the flames Henry disappeared with a shout of "The Burrow."


	3. Getting Aquainted

Merlin Protocol

Chapter 3

AN: Hello again everybody i decided to put up this shorter chapter now because this next week at school is going to be hell and since i already had it written I might as well. Ill try to get another chapter out sometime this week and if not definitely by the weekend. I really enjoy hearing what you guys think so leave a review and as always enjoy.

Disclaimer: Not Mine

Chapter 3

"So you are telling me that in the span of 24 hours not only have I lost the Weasley girl but three of my inner circle has been captured?" The twisted form of Lord Voldemort spoke with clenched teeth.

"Yes my lord we don't know what happened none of the wards were tripped and they used weapons we've never even seen before." The faceless Death Eater spoke timidly from his position kneeled in front of his master.

"I see well in that case… AVADA KEDAVRA!" Voldemort's voice rang out as a bolt of green light struck the man kneeling at his feet. "I am surrounded by idiots, Peter!"

"Yes my lord," the cowering form of Peter Pettigrew muttered coming to the front of the assembled Death Eaters.

"I want you to find out how this happened; also have all the safe houses moved it's obvious somebody knows where we are hiding. Get it done now or you know the consequences."

"Of course master it will be done."

"It had better now leave me I have much to do." With that all of the assembled Death Eaters left the room leaving their master to his thoughts. _It seems a new player has entered the game, no matter they will bow before me like the rest when my rule is supreme. _Pondering the recent chain of events Voldemort left for his personal library to try to solve the problems that were currently plaguing him.

##########

At the same moment in a remote part of Scotland an elderly man sat in his office contemplating the same events. Going to the large bookcase that adorned the wall of his office he browsed the shelves before finding the target of his search. Pulling an ancient looking tome from the shelf he opened his copy of the Wizengamot's original charter. Finding the entry he was looking for he scanned the page which confirmed the Major's words from earlier. Setting the book back on his desk his thoughts turned to the other recent developments. _It seems that Harry Potter has returned to our world bringing some powerful friends with him. _For Dumbledore was no fool he knew that even with magic the muggles superior numbers and technology would spell destruction for the wizarding world if it came down to fighting. _No matter more important things are at play, I must get Harry to my side because without him I have no weapon. I must find a way to get him where I can watch him; I need to get him to Hogwarts. But I must tread carefully. _Dumbledore's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of someone ascending the staircase leading to his office. Seeing his colleague enter he spoke, "Ah to what do I owe this pleasure Minerva?"

"I heard that Ginny Weasley had been rescued I came to see if the rumors were true." His deputy spoke with a hopeful expression on her face.

"They are indeed true my dear, she was saved by the most unlikely of people."

"What do you mean Albus?"

"It was the muggle military that rescued her; it seems that Arthur went to their Prime Minister seeking help."

"What? How?"

"I'm not completely sure myself but one thing is certain, change is coming to our world." Dumbledore spoke looking to his deputy, "now what do you day to a cup of tea this old man could use some company.

"I'd be delighted to Albus." With that the two professors left the room on their way to the kitchens.

###############

Reaching his destination Henry was deposited into the Weasley's living room his injured leg buckling causing him to fall to the floor. With a hiss of pain and a string of barely restrained profanity he looked up seeing Jake standing over him outlined by the morning sun coming through the windows trying to control his laughter. "You know you could help me up instead of standing there laughing you dick."

"Ha ha ha ha sorry I can't ha-ha stop ha ha ok I'm finished now get up you lazy ass." Reaching down Henry grasped his hand as he was hoisted to his feet. Hearing a noise behind him he turned around quickly to see Ron and Hermione standing in the doorway watching the interaction between the two. Seeing Henry walking towards them with a slight limp Hermione asked, "Are you ok, what happened?"

"Yea I'm fine just caught a cutting curse to the leg. No need to worry I'll be fine although it would be nice to sit down." Coming into the kitchen he took a seat at the table with the others following him. "So where are Connor and Frank?" he asked looking back to Jake.

"Outside checking the wards and securing the perimeter." Jake spoke as Henry nodded in understanding.

"So you know some about us but we know almost nothing about you two." Henry spoke looking to Ron and Hermione.

"Oh well we both just graduated from Hogwarts. Ron is about to start auror training and as for me I will be working at Hogwarts next year." Hermione spoke for both her and her boyfriend.

"Oh you're going to be teaching?"

"Not exactly there were no open spots this year but Headmaster Dumbledore decided to hire me as a teaching assistant for Transfiguration and Ancient Runes."

"That's exciting and judging from what I've seen I'm guessing that you two are dating?"

"Well you guessed right" the voice of Ron Weasley finally spoke up from beside Hermione.

"I've noticed your accent is different from any other I have heard what part of England are you from." Hermione quickly spoke after Ron attempting to take the attention off of them and to find out more about the mysterious men that had entered their life.

"I'm afraid I can't tell you that Miss Granger but I will tell you that home for me has not always been England." A thoughtful expression came onto Hermione's face as she contemplated his words. At the same time Mrs. Weasley entered the kitchen coming down the stairs.

"Oh Henry good your back, are you hungry," as she spoke she noticed the bandage on Henry's leg. "Oh dear are you all right? What happened to your leg?"

With a sigh Henry spoke, "Yes I'm quite alright Mrs. Weasley and I would love something to eat, by the way how is Ginny doing?"

"Oh wonderful she woke up not long ago, she should be down soon." Mrs. Weasley spoke as she moved to the counter and began to prepare a meal for those at the table. Sitting in relative silence Henry heard the sound of soft footsteps making their way down the stairs. Looking up his eyes locked on to a pair of intense brown eyes that were staring back at him. "Ginny! Good you're just in time for breakfast take a seat." Henry's eyes stayed on the girls form as she made her way to the table taking a seat next to Hermione directly across from him. Looking up she again made eye contact with Henry quickly diverting her gaze to the table in front of her as a hint of red crept onto her face.

"Hello I'm Henry and this is my teammate Jake I must say you look loads better than you did the last time I saw you." Henry spoke reaching across the table to grasp Ginny's hand.

"Hi my name's Ginny," she spoke looking back up at the men before her. She swore she recognized Henry's voice from somewhere, and then she remembered that it was the same voice that had calmed her and chased her nightmares away the night she had been rescued.

"Well it's a pleasure to meet you formally Ginny." With that he turned to the dishes of food that had just been put on the table. Loading their plates the assembled group began to eat the delicious food that Mrs. Weasley had made. When they were finishing their meal the door opened and Connor and Frank walked in coming to sit at the table.

"Peters if your finished eating it's your turn to take watch." Connor spoke seeing that Henry had pushed his plate away from him.

"Rodger boss," rising from the table Henry grabbed his weapon that had been leaning against the table beside him. Moving out of the house Henry began his patrol around the Weasley's property. Finishing his loop he began to make his way to the porch to have a seat and rest his leg. When the house came into view he saw a figure with long red hair occupying the spot that he had been heading to. Recognizing the form of Ginny he came closer taking a seat next to her on the bench she was sitting on. "How are you feeling?" he asked with a concerned tone in his voice.

"I'm fine all thanks to you, that's the reason that I came out here I want to thank you for rescuing me. It's terrifying to think about what would have happened if you hadn't of shown up." As she was speaking her voice began to tremble biting back a sob as she finished. Henry looked at her seeing the barley contained tears threatening to be let loose. He reached towards her his hand resting on her back as he tried to comfort her. Leaning into his touch Ginny noticed the same sense of comfort that she had felt when her nightmares had been chased away. A feeling of safety overcame her as she regained her composure and sat back up looking back to Henry.

"It was my duty and I am happy that we were able to rescue you, I only wish we could have been called in earlier so I could have saved you from some of the pain." Henry said trying to put as much sincerity into his voice as he could.

"So who are you? How did you and those other men save me?"

"I guess you could say that we're soldiers but it's more than that. Your father came to our Prime Minister asking for help in rescuing you so he called us; we've been training for years so we could help people like we did for you."

"So you're a muggle?" she asked with a hint of disappointment in her voice.

"Oh no I am most certainly a wizard as are the other members of my team." He said as he conjured a beautiful lily before handing it to her. Blushing as she received the gift she said:

"That was amazing, how did you do that?" she spoke with an astonished expression on her face.

"Well I could tell you but I'm afraid I would have to kill you." Henry spoke with a chuckle.

"What!" his head snapped up to see a horrified look on her face.

"No no not like that, I'm sorry it's a muggle expression it just means that I can't tell you. I would never hurt you."

"Oh, well that's an odd saying." She said as she calmed down the feeling of safety overcoming the fear that she had just felt. The sound of the door opening caused both to turn towards the door to see Mrs. Weasley come out onto the porch.

"Oh there you are Ginny dear come inside Madam Pomfrey said you needed to rest most of today." Ginny stood up heading to the door.

"Ok mum, see you later Henry." She spoke looking back sending a small smile towards Henry. After they were both inside Henry was left alone on the porch to ponder the enigma that was Ginny Weasley and the feelings she was causing him to feel.

#########

"My lord I have discovered who has been attacking us." Peter Pettigrew spoke as he came to kneel in front of the throne that his master was sitting in. A look of triumph spread across Voldemort's face as he looked down upon his servant.

"Excellent Peter now tell me who has been able to hit us when the Ministry and Dumbledore have been unable to."

"It appears that they were muggles my lord. I learned from one of my sources that made it through the ministry shakedown that Weasley went to the muggle Prime Minister for help. It appears that it was the muggle military that rescued the Weasley girl and captured the Carrows." Peter finished cringing at the outburst that he knew was going to come.

"MUGGLES! Tell me how muggles have been able to capture and kill my death eaters, they are worthless pitiful creatures."

"We don't know master, they used weapons muggles call 'guns' but they strike with such speed that our men have been caught off guard."

"Crucio!" With that the chamber was filled with screams of agony as Pettigrew writhed on the floor under the torture curse. "That is unacceptable Peter there is no way that muggles should be able to defeat my death eaters. We will just have to send a message to the muggle government to stay out of affairs that don't concern them. Bellatrix!" Voldemort spoke calling for his most loyal servant.

"Yes my lord" Bellatrix purred coming to kneel before her master.

"That filth must be taught a lesson I want you to take 20 of our best and lead an attack on muggle London, kill everyone and cause as much destruction as possible. Don't fail me Bella or you will not like the consequences."

"I won't fail you master, the muggles will rue the day they attacked you." Rising to her feet Bellatrix moved from the room to plan the attack. _Oh yes those filthy muggles will pay._


	4. Just Doing My Job

Merlin Protocol

Chapter 4

AN: Welcome back everybody i apologize about the wait but these past few weeks have been more than i had anticipated but know that I am always working on the story even if it takes a while for me to update. Thanks for reading and as always please review.

Nute

The pounding of feet, the gasps of breath, sweat pouring down his face as Henry ran through the lightly wooded area he found himself in he saw the first signs of dawn creeping over the horizon. Looking to his left he saw Jake keeping pace with him, coming out of the woods Henry looked to the figure of the Burrow off to his left. A week had passed since the raid on Carrow manor and Henry was finally able to train again so Jake had agreed to go on a run with him. During that week the team had settled into a routine at the Burrow, while one was always on watch the other three were usually either training or spending times with the other occupants of the Weasley house. As Henry and Jake came out of the woods on the final stretch of their run they saw the Burrow come into view on their left. As they came closer to the house Henry saw Ginny making her way towards the house from the garden with a basket of vegetables. As they came to closer to her Henry slowed to a walk as Jake did the same and they came to walk beside her. "Morning Ginny, how are you doing?" Henry spoke as the group continued to walk towards the house.

"Oh I'm fine, how about you, you guys were up early this morning."

"Yea well I can finally train again so I wanted to get a good run in this morning, and of course I had to drag Jake along with me."

"I agreed to go for a run, but I don't see why it had to be so bloody early." Jake spoke up from beside Henry.

"Ah quit your whining it's good for you." Henry said with a chuckle as he heard Ginny stifle one of her own. The group came to the bottom of the steps leading to the house when the back door flew open and Connor walked out dressed in his combat gear holding his rifle. Seeing this put Jake and Henry on alert as they hadn't been in that gear since the raid.

"Gear up ASAP men we have a Death Eater attack under way in muggle London," as Connor spoke the men ran up the steps into the house to get their equipment. Coming to the room they shared the two men began putting their armor on as fast as they could. Connor and Frank walked in to the room as the other two were getting ready, "Ok guys here is the situation, we have an unknown number of enemy hostiles causing all sorts of hell at Piccadilly Circus. We will be the first to arrive because the other squads have to travel by floo while we will take a portkey directly to the area. Stay sharp and eliminate all hostiles, we're going to have to try and defend the civilians while we wait for backup. Watch each others' six and we'll be home in time for dinner, now let's move out." The group of four men moved out of the room and down the stairs coming into the kitchen. As they came into the room Henry saw a length of rope lain out on the table and the forms of Ginny, Ron, Hermione, and Mrs. Weasley who watched them come into the kitchen.

"15 seconds boss," Frank spoke to Connor as he loaded a clip into his rifle, the rest of the team doing the same. After performing a final check on their equipment the four men grabbed the rope . "5…4…3…2…1.." as Frank reached zero Henry looked up one last time his eyes making contact with Ginny's where he saw worry evident all over her face, as the group disappeared Henry sent a small smile to her trying to reassure her that they would be okay.

#############################

Feeling his feet make contact with the ground as he was deposited by the portkey Henry dropped to one knee raising his weapon not knowing what to expect. Seeing that they had been taken to an alley away from the main attack the four men got up and began to move towards the end of the alley to engage the enemy.

"Okay guys were going to engage the enemy head on to distract them from the civilians, if we begin to take heavy fire I want Peters to shield as we fall back to a defensive position. Now let's show them why they should never fuck with us." Coming to the end of the alley the team moved out into the chaos that awaited them. Henry could see the forms of running men, women, and children as they tried to escape the explosions and colorful beams of energy that were striking down people left and right. Leaving the relative protection of the alley the men moved towards the main group of hostiles that were shooting spells in all different directions, aiming down his sight Henry began to fire into the group of men as the rest of his team follow his lead. After two of the enemies were down the Death Eaters turned their attention to the new threat sending a barrage of curses at the group. Seeing the incoming threat Henry lowered his weapon letting it rest on the sling around his shoulder before raising his hands again erecting a shield around the team that absorbed all off the spells. "Fall back to that store, Henry keep that shield up. Return fire!" Connor yelled over the sound of spells hitting the shield and his own weapon firing back at the enemy. The team fell back under Henry's shield to a store where they took cover hopeful that reinforcements were going to come soon. Entering the store the team saw a group of civilians taking cover in the store. "Keep down, Peters get on the second floor and tell me what you see."

"Rodger boss," getting up Henry moved to the back of the store where he found a set of stairs leading him to the upper floor. Coming to the front windows of the building they were taking cover in Henry opened one of the windows slightly before aiming through the scope on his weapon. He saw groups of Death Eaters scattered throughout the street most of who were concentrated on him and his team. "1-1 this is 1-4 I count 15 hostiles broken into smaller groups positioned throughout the street, orders?" Henry spoke into the headset that he wore.

"Copy that Kilo 1-4 eliminate any hostiles you can, we need to hold these boys off until backup arrives in approximately 10 mikes." The voice of Connor answered Henry over the radio. Looking through his sight again Henry centered on the nearest group of enemies as he targeted the one he believed to be in charge. Releasing a breath slowly Henry steadily squeezed the trigger on his weapon as the loud rapport of his rifle signaled the projectile headed for his target. Through his scope Henry saw the slight red spray signaling that he hit his target as the man dropped dead from the bullet through his chest. Seeing the other Death Eaters shocked looks Henry targeted his next victim once again steadily squeezing the trigger to see the figure fall. Following the last Death Eater in his scope as the man attempted to flee Henry went to squeeze the trigger again only to see the figure dropped just before he was able to fire. Lowering his weapon Henry looked out over the street seeing a small group of wizards attack the Death Eaters led by none other than Albus Dumbledore. "Kilo 1-1 it appears that Dumbledore and his order have decided to join the party, they are coming from the enemy's right flank."

"Rodger, well we can't allow them to have all of the fun, were pushing forward 1-4 meet us on the street." Connors voice spoke as Henry stood up disappearing with a twist as he reappeared on the street to be met by the rest of his team as they came out of the store. "Move up let's finish this!" Moving forward Henry continued to fire as he took cover behind a bench, his team taking similar positions nearby. Looking around the bench Henry saw the a group of hostiles focused on them and another on the Order, out of the corner of his eye he saw a young girl with a terrified expression on her face begin to wander towards the area between the fighters. Henry's heart leapt as the girl continued to wander closer, jumping over the bench he was taking cover behind.

"Covering fire!" Henry yelled as he cleared the bench hitting the ground running towards the girl. The rest of his team hearing his call and seeing the girl kept up a continuous barrage of bullets which kept the Death Eaters behind their shields. Reaching the girl Henry bent down still moving as he scooped the small body up in his arms as he pivoted around moving as fast as his body would carry him to the closest cover where the girl would be safe. Taking cover behind an abandoned car in the street Henry set the girl down checking her over for injuries, seeing that the girl was only shaken and not injured he said to her, "get in the car and lay down on the floor, I'll come and get you when it's safe to come out." After the girl had climbed into the car Henry looked over the car he was hiding behind raising his rifle to fire upon the enemy that had hurt so many today. With pressure coming from both sides the remaining Death Eaters began to make their way down the open end of the street viciously firing spells to cover their movement. As the remaining hostiles were about to round the corner onto the next street they were met by a hail of gunfire that trimmed their numbers until only seven remained before they could raise shields. Seeing that the battle was lost the surviving Death Eaters grabbed their emergency portkeys disappearing where they stood.

Seeing that the coast was clear Henry lowered his weapon taking a moment to calm his breathing. Regaining his composure he opened to door to the car, looking inside he was met with a pair of bright blue eyes and the barley contained tears that were threatening to spill out. "Its okay, the bad men are gone and you can come out now." The girl acted as if she hadn't heard him as she lowered her eyes clinging to the seat. Reaching out to the girl he lifted her chin with his fingers again making eye contact, "What's your name?"

"Em-ma," she said with a sniffle.

"Well Emma my name is Henry and you have my word that it is safe to come out, and if you do come out I can help you find your parents so you can get home." Henry said as he tried to coax the girl out of her hiding spot.

"You promise?"

"I promise," Henry said fixing the little girl with a reassuring smile. Making her decision the little girl climbed out of the car and Henry once again picked her up. "Now where were you before you got separated from your parents?"

"Me and mommy were over there when the bad men came and I lost mommy." Emma said as she pointed to the sidewalk in front of the store they were taking cover in. Remembering the group of civilians that also took cover in there he decided that it would be the best place to start. Looking back to his team he saw that they had gathered and were talking with the other squads, squeezing his radio button he spoke into his headset, "1-1 this is 1-4, requesting permission to help this girl find her parents." As he spoke he saw Connor turn and look in his direction, seeing the girl in his arms Connor said.

"Granted 1-4 we have things covered here regroup after you finish." With that Henry began to walk towards the store that they had hid in. Coming to the store he saw a large group of people coming out of the store.

"Do you see her," he asked the girl.

"I don't think so."

"Okay well people are still coming out of there so keep looking." As the civilians continued to come out of the store Henry heard a loud call.

"Emma!" A middle age woman screamed as she raced to where Henry and Emma were.

"Mommy!" Seeing that they had found her mother Henry set the girl down and she began to run toward the woman. When they met the mother enveloped her daughter in a hug as she assured herself that her daughter was fine. Picking the girl up to hold her close the mother looked to Henry as he walked up to them.

"Thank you so much, I was so worried when she got separated from me in the madness." The woman said with tears of joy and relief running down her face.

"No problem ma'am I'm just thankful that I was able to get to her before she got hurt. If you'll excuse me I need to get back to my team, it was nice to meet you both bye Emma." Henry said as he turned around and began to walk away hearing a soft voice speak from behind him.

"Bye Henry" Emma said as the man walked away. Hearing the girl's farewell a smile crept onto Henry's face as he made his way to where his team was standing with the members of the Order that had fought the Death Eaters. Coming closer Henry recognized Dumbledore and Remus as well as Alastor Moody from a briefing on who's-who in the wizarding world. However he didn't recognize the fourth figure, a woman with vibrant purple hair who stood next to Remus.

"Boss..." Henry said to Connor as he came to where the group was standing.

"Peters, the other squads are tending to the wounded and Mr. Dumbledore here just informed me that the Ministry will be sending people here to take care of the civilians' memories. We've been ordered back to the Burrow for a debriefing so were waiting on word of transportation."

"Rodger that." Henry said as he turned to look at the assembled Order members who had all directed their gazes towards him.

"That was an incredibly brave thing you did for that girl Henry," Dumbledore spoke in his grandfatherly tone.

"Not to mention crazy as hell!" The purple haired woman exclaimed from her spot beside Remus.

"Well I'm happy that I could entertain but I was just doing my job. Hi I'm Henry and you are…" Henry said as he extended his hand to the woman.

"The names Tonks, it's a pleasure to meet you Henry. I was impressed by you guys out there I've never seen fighting like that." Tonks said as she shook Henry's hand.

"Thanks but you guys really helped turn the tide today, we're grateful you all showed up when you did."

"Peters control has authorized us to apparate back so were moving out." Connor spoke turning his attention back to his radio as he walked away from the group.

"Well that's our cue, it was nice to meet you Tonks, always a pleasure Mr. Dumbledore, Remus." Henry turned away from the group after he finished speaking as he began to move to where the rest of his team was standing.

"Alright guys good job today now let's get back to the Burrow to get cleaned up." Connor spoke looking to each man before turning on the spot disappearing with a slight 'pop'. Following his lead the rest of the team apparated away leaving the London street behind.

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Later that day, long after the sun had set and the inhabitants of the house had gone to sleep, a lone figure walked up the steps to the back porch finishing his patrol of the Weasley property. Henry removed his weapon that hung around his shoulders leaning it against a bench as he went to sit. After some time of taking in the silent and peaceful landscape spread out before him he heard the door to the house open and another person walk out. Assuming it was one of his teammates Henry turned to look at the person approaching him surprised to see Ginny making her way to the bench with two mugs in her hands. "Tea?" she asked extending one of the mugs to him.

"Please, here take a seat." He said making room from her as he took the offered mug. She took a seat next to him as he sipped at the tea. "It's been a while since I've had a cup of tea, I've grown used to coffee." He said breaking the silence.

"Really? Are you sure you're British?" She said with a chuckle not noticing the look that flashed across his face.

"Of course I am, just need something a little bit stronger in my line of work." Henry replied trying to laugh it off. "Not that I don't enjoy the tea and company but what are you doing up so late?"

"Couldn't sleep," she said with a sigh as she directed her eyes anywhere but Henry.

"Nightmares?" all he got was a nod in response. "I understand you know? About nightmares, why do you think I'm pretty much always the one to take night watch? It's because I find it easier to sleep during the day." He said as he lightly grasped her chin directing her eyes towards his own.

"Really? What do you have nightmares about?" She said noticing the shift in his eyes as the memories were forced to the surface. "I'm sorry that was incredibly insensitive of me."

"No it's okay, let's just say that my childhood was less than happy but that was a long time ago," he said with a bittersweet smile. "The thing is you can't let it control you. If there is one thing that I have learned from my service in the army it's that it is okay to be scared, but you have to overcome that fear and learn to live with it."

"Well how do you do that?"

"You live; you keep going and do what you need to do. By doing that you're not letting the fear rule your life but rising above it, it doesn't hurt to have a family that's as loving as yours is." Henry said his emerald eyes staring into Ginny's brown as a small grin crept onto his face. "But if you ever need to talk about anything just know that I am here."

"Thank you Henry but I don't feel like talking right now, I just want to sit here for a while if that's okay with you." Ginny said as she moved closer to Henry until she was slightly leaning against him.

"That sounds great," Henry said. The pair sat on the porch for some time and Henry noticed that Ginny's head had come to rest on his shoulder as she had fallen asleep. As the first lights of dawn were creeping over the horizon Henry decided that it was time to get Ginny to bed. Not wanting to wake her when she had, had trouble sleeping lately he picked her up from her spot next to him and made his way into the house. He made his way up to her room laying her on her bed and raising the covers over her, with one last glance at the sleeping girl Henry made his way out of the room.

"Howya doin?" Henry heard as he was closing Ginny's door gently causing him to jump as he turned to the stairs to see Jake sitting halfway up with a giant grin on his face.

"This isn't what it looks like," Henry said trying to think of an excuse to protect both him and Ginny.

"Sure it isn't," Jake said as he rose from the stairs coming to the level Henry stood on. "Get some sleep lover boy I'm on watch now," with that Jake descended the stairs leaving Henry alone with a confused look on his face. Shaking his head Henry made his way to his room to get some much needed sleep.

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"Henry…Henry...HENRY!"

"Wha..." Henry exclaimed as he was awoken from his sleep later in the day. Looking to the doorway he saw Jake standing there with the same grin from the morning on his face.

"Get your ass up the Majors in the kitchen and he wants to talk to us." Jake said his face taking a serious look before he turned and went down the stairs leaving Henry to get dressed. After throwing a dressing in fatigues Henry made his way to the kitchen saluting the Major as he came into the room.

"Ah good your all here now let's get down to business." Major Taylor spoke as he passed out briefing folders. "That was a good job in London boys, it was just a shit situation but we have found a way to get a little payback. We have Intel that later this week a large group of foreign Death Eaters will be coming to England, and were going to roll out the welcome party for them." The Major said as a fierce grin came across his face.


	5. The Calm

Merlin Protocol

Chapter 5

A/N: Welcome back all i apologize for the long wait but as i said i am still working on this story it has just taken me a lot longer than i expected. As always read and review because i love to hear what people think.

Nute

Two days after the attack on London things had settled down for the team. With their next operation scheduled to take place later in the week Henry found himself with some downtime. Frank was currently on watch and Connor and Jake had flooed to Hereford to gather the supplies that the team would need for the rest of the week. This was the reason that Henry currently found himself in the kitchen of the Burrow, as he finished reading the Daily Prophet setting it on the table he saw Ron making his way down the stairs into the kitchen. "Fancy a game of chess?" Ron said motioning with the board he held under his arm.

"Sure, I haven't played chess in a long time though so take it easy on me." Henry said with a laugh as Ron began to set up the board on the table. As Ron moved his pawn to start the game Henry struck up a conversation, "So you're training to be an auror right? How'd you end up doing that?"

"It just seemed like the right thing to do, try to make a difference you know?" Ron said with a contemplative look on his face that turned to a smile as he said, "I was just lucky to have Hermione there to help me get the grades."

"Trust me I know what you mean; making a difference was one of the main reasons that I do what I do now." Henry said as he moved his piece on the board to block Ron's advance. Ron nodded in response and the game continued in silence for a few minutes before.

"So I know that all of you guys are wizards but why does it seem like you're the only one that I see doing magic, I don't think I've seen any of your team do any the entire time you all have been here." Ron said ending the silence as he took one of Henry's pawns.

"Nice move, but they do magic just not as much as me. That's partly because I am the only one capable of wandless magic so they still have to use wands, and trust me using a wand and a rifle at the same time is next to impossible. Also some of them left the wizarding world behind so they don't feel the same connection to it that you and most other wizards do." Henry said moving his piece taking one of Ron's pawns in retaliation.

"Why would they leave the wizarding world?"

"Well various reasons none of which are mine to tell, sorry."

"No it's alright I can see the need for secrecy that you all have." Ron said moving another piece on the board looking back to Henry.

"Yea there are a lot of people that would like to kill us given the chance, even more now that we're on Voldy's radar."

"You're probably right," Ron said as looking up from the board. "So I've noticed that you and Ginny seem to be spending a lot of time together lately…" Ron said trailing off.

"Yea it's been great getting to know her she's been really nice, you all have by welcoming us into your home like you have." Henry said moving his piece taking Ron's knight successfully drawing his attention back to the game and away from the subject Henry wished to avoid.

"Least we could do after what you and your team have done for us," Ron said not looking up from the board. The game progressed with the two making idle conversation about quidditch and the few other things that they had in common.

"Checkmate," Ron said with a triumphant grin on his face as he beat Henry.

"Damn, I thought I almost had you."

"Don't feel too bad he beats everybody," a voice said from behind Henry in the direction of the stairs. Turning around Henry saw Ginny come into the kitchen wearing some rather small jean shorts and a faded t-shirt. "The only one here that can beat him is dad and even that only happens every once in a while."

"Well good to know that I'm not the only one," Henry said as Ginny came to sit at the table with them. Ron got up as she sat down speaking as he made his way out of the room,

"Well I've got to take care of some things at the Ministry so I'll see you two later, tell mum where I've gone will you Ginny?"

"Sure thing," after Ron had departed through the fireplace the two were left alone in the kitchen.

"So what are you doing today?"

"Well mum wants to go to Diagon Alley to get my school stuff but doesn't want to let me go because 'it's not safe'" Ginny finished imitating her mother's voice with an irritated look on her face.

"Well if a couple of us come with you all I bet we could convince your mom it would be safe, I'll have to run it by Connor first though," Henry said.

"Really?" Ginny said hopefully.

"Yea why don't you go ask her while I talk to Connor," Henry said. As Ginny ran up the stairs Henry put the earpiece to his radio back in his ear as he spoke into the microphone, "1-1 this is 1-4, Mrs. Weasley and Ginny are planning a trip to Diagon Alley, request permission to accompany them for security."

"Copy that 1-4 hold there until we return and then Williams will accompany you while Frank and I stay at the Burrow to keep an eye on things there." Henry heard through his earpiece as Ginny made her way back into the kitchen with a hopeful look on her face.

"She said yes!" Ginny exclaimed.

"Great we have to wait until they get back and then me and Jake will go with you all to make sure nothing happens," as he finished speaking they heard the fireplace come to life signaling the arrival of Connor and Jake.

"Peters," Connor said as the two came into the room where he and Ginny were sitting.

"Sir."

"I want you and Williams to get changed into street clothes to go to Diagon, also side arms only. Meet me down here after your ready and I'll finish briefing you." When he had finished speaking Henry and Jake made their way up to the room that they were sharing to get changed. Taking out a pair of dark blue jeans and a plain black button up shirt Henry got dressed as Jake did the same on the other side of the room. After tying his shoes Henry opened his foot locker withdrawing his side holster as well as his Glock pistol, sliding it into the holster he wore on his hip he cast a disillusionment charm on the weapon and the radio he wore to keep them hidden from view. Looking across the room to see that Jake had finished getting ready the two made their way down the stairs were they found Connor, Ginny, and Mrs. Weasley waiting for them to return. "Good now you should at least blend in better than in full combat gear. You are both on close quarter's protection, try and go unnoticed but if the situation arises you are clear to take any action needed to ensure the safety of these two," Connor said directing his gaze toward Ginny and Mrs. Weasley.

"Rodger boss we'll keep them safe," Jake said.

"Good now get moving," Connor spoke turning to the stairs. After he had left the room Henry and the other three moved into the living room towards the fireplace.

"I'll go first to make sure everything is safe," Henry said throwing a pinch of floo powder into the fire before stepping in and yelling, "Diagon Alley." After spinning past hundreds of fireplaces Henry came to a stop as his feet made contact with the floor of the Leaky Cauldron. Scanning the room for threats Henry decided it was safe before speaking into his radio, "Everything's good on this end, come on through." After only a few seconds the fire roared green again before depositing the form of Ginny, he came to her side and pulled her out of the way as the her mother came out of the flames. When Jake was finally through the floo the group made their way out of the Leaky Cauldron to the entrance to Diagon Alley. Stepping through the opening in the brick wall, they were greeted with the sight of a barren alley because most people were driven away by the threat of death eater attacks. Entering the alley the group decided to split up.

"It would be faster if we split up to do your shopping Ginny, why don't I go get your robes and potion supplies while you get your books and parchment," Mrs. Weasley said as they came into the alley.

"Okay I'll go with Mrs. Weasley, you go with Ginny," Jake said after Mrs. Weasley had spoken.

"Sounds good, we'll meet here in say an hour?"

"Perfect, stay safe and call me if there are any problems," Jake finished as he and Mrs. Weasley started to head down the alley to get Ginny's robes.

"Well where to, you know this place better than me," Henry said to Ginny after they were alone.

"We should probably start at Scribbulus to get my parchment then make our way to Flourish and Blotts for my books." Ginny said after thinking for a moment.

"Sounds good, you lead the way," Henry said as Ginny began to walk. Keeping an eye on their surroundings for threats Henry struck up a conversation with his companion. "So are you excited for your last year as school?"

"Oh you have no idea; I've been ready for the past three years."

"Haha you shouldn't rush it, do you know what you want to do after you graduate?" Henry said following Ginny as she led the way.

"Well I really want to be a professional quidditch player, but if that doesn't work out I'll probably work for the ministry like my father and brothers. But where did you go to school?"

"Far away from here but that is all that I can say right now, it's-"

"Classified, yea I get it. I feel like I don't know anything about you, please just give me something, I mean you saved my life I'd like to at least know a little about you." Ginny spoke looking into Henry's eyes not realizing that they had come to a stop as she was speaking.

After thinking for a moment Henry spoke to the girl in front of him, "I was raised by my aunt and uncle until I was 5, it was a less than pleasant time for me. After I had turned five, I was abandoned at an orphanage in London where I lived for three years before some family friends took me away. That is all I can tell you for now even though I wish it were different, be patient though everything will be revealed in time. But we really must keep moving." Henry finished as he pulled her down the street towards their destination.

"Okay but I'll hold you to that Peters," she said glaring at him as they came to the stationary shop. He just chuckled as he held the door open for her to enter. After she had replenished her writing supplies, the duo left the store in the direction of Flourish & Blotts. "So do you follow Quidditch?" She asked as they continued down the street.

"Not as much as I would like but your brother filled me in on what's happening in the league this morning."

"That doesn't surprise me I just hope he didn't brainwash you into becoming a Cannon's fan, I honestly don't know what he is thinking."

With a laugh he said, "God no they're awful, I've always been partial to United. How about you?"

"I'm a Harpies girl through and through," she said with a smile as they came to the bookstore. Stepping into the store Ginny took out her list to see what she needed to get in the store, setting of down an aisle Henry followed a few step behind her surveying the store for threats. Coming to the end of the row looking at the shelves Ginny heard a voice behind her that made her blood run cold.

"Well well well if it isn't the Weasel," the voice of Draco Malfoy spoke as he came up behind her. Henry saw the young man come up behind Ginny and stepped closer his hand coming to grip the pistol that was resting on his hip, but decided not to intervene yet in hopes of avoiding a scene that would draw much unwanted attention to them. "I do hope that you enjoyed my family's hospitality, we simply must have you as a guest again," he said with a smirk that Henry instantly wanted to smack off of his face, he took another step towards Ginny coming to stand a few feet behind her pretending to look at one of the shelves.

"Sorry but I don't think that will be possible, but do tell me how is your father Draco?" Ginny said causing the smirk to leave his face in place of a sneer. Truthfully, the Malfoy family had no idea where Lucius had been taken, only that he had not been seen since the rescue.

"Why you little… someone should teach you some respect," he said as he reached into his robes for his wand as Ginny began to reach for her own, but both were too slow for Henry who saw Draco's action and was spurred into action. Coming between the two, he grabbed Draco's arm that was going for his wand twisting it in an unnatural way causing him to drop it. Throwing him to the ground by the same arm Henry kicked away his wand before binding Draco's arms behind his back, with the threat neutralized Henry looked up at Ginny to see a look of shock on her face.

"1-2 this is 1-4 we have a situation in the bookstore get over here now," Henry spoke into his radio.

"Rodger on my way," after ensuring that Malfoy wasn't going anywhere and casting a silencing charm on him to stop his yelling Henry rose and walked to Ginny.

"Are you okay?" he asked seeing the far away look in her eyes. "Ginny look at me," seeing her eyes come into focus on him he asked if she was okay again. Only getting a nod in response Henry decided to deal with the more pressing matter of the crowd that had gathered around them, "don't leave my side," he said turning around. "Okay everybody move along official ministry business," he said flashing a badge that he carried with him for occasions such as these, seeing that no one was moving he was about to begin shouting at them when he heard a familiar voice in the back of the crowd beat him to it.

"Get the hell out of the way you idiots," Henry heard the voice of Jake making his way towards him shoving people in the crowd out of the way. Coming to where Henry and Ginny were standing over the prone form of Draco Malfoy he whistled, "Man you sure know how to make a scene."

"Shut up and help me," he said seeing Mrs. Weasley rush over to take Ginny in her arms. "Get them out of here I'll take care of this trash and get the rest of her supplies," as he was speaking he took out a portkey that would take them back to the Burrow handing it to Jake.

"You got it, I'll let Connor know what happened," taking the length of rope from Henry he went to where Mrs. Weasley was talking softly to her daughter, after they had all grabbed hold of the portkey they vanished from the spot transported away from the store. Coming to where Malfoy was still trying to yell despite the silencing charm, he lifted him to his feet canceling the spell.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing, you just assaulted a member of a noble and ancient house I'll see you rot in Azkaban for this-"he was cut off by a swift elbow to the gut as Henry began to lead him through the crowd out of the store.

"Well seeing how you attempted to attack the daughter of the Minister of Magic I think you should be more worried about Azkaban," leaning in closer he whispered, "you're lucky there was a crowd or I would have killed you on the spot and nothing would have happened to me." Walking down the alley towards the Aurors that were stationed there, he was relieved to see that one of them was the woman he met in London; Tonks was her name he thought. "Good to see you again Auror Tonks," Henry said coming to where she and another man that he did not recognize were keeping watch of the alley from.

"Wotcher Henry, what do we have here," she said noticing the figure that Henry was leading towards them.

"I subdued this upstanding citizen when he attempted to attack Ginny Weasley in the bookstore, now I have many ideas about what I would like to do to him but I felt it would be best to turn him over to you even though I doubt the charges will stick." Henry said this as he passed the boy over to the Aurors.

"Thanks we'll take it from here," Tonks said as the man took Draco from him and began to lead him away.

"Don't worry we'll be seeing each other again real soon Draco, and I'll be sure to mention this little incident to your father the next time that I see him." Draco just glared at him as he was led away by the Aurors. Turning around Henry headed back to the bookstore to finish the shopping that had been interrupted. After buying all of the books that were on the list, he left the store moving to the apparition point at the end of the alley. Taking one last look around Henry disappeared with a twist leaving the alley behind.

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Reappearing at the edge of the wards that surrounded the Burrow Henry began to make his way to the house. As the back of the house came into view, Henry saw Frank sitting on the back porch obviously still on watch. "How's it goin?" he said coming up the steps.

"All quiet on this end, I hear the same can't be said about your little outing." Frank said with a small smirk on his face.

"Oh you know it just wouldn't be a proper outing unless you have to take somebody down, where are Jake and Connor?"

"They're inside with Molly you better get in there they have been waiting," with a nod Henry went into the house to see the aforementioned people sitting around the table.

"Peters your back, what the hell happened out there," Connor said as Henry sat at the table.

"Wonderful to see you too boss, here Molly these are the rest of Ginny's books," he said as he sat a bag on the table.

"Thank you Henry for these and for taking care of my daughter."

"Is Ginny okay?"

"She's upstairs resting, that incident gave her quite the shock so I sent her to bed."

"Peters…," Connor spoke up after Henry had ignored him the first time.

"Right, we entered the bookstore to get her textbooks and I was a few steps behind her keeping an eye on things. Then she was confronted by Malfoy's son who referenced her imprisonment, being an all around asshole. I stayed close but did not intervene hoping to avoid causing a scene but when Ginny referenced his father Draco went for his wand. I subdued him and then called for backup, after sending Ginny and Mrs. Weasley back here with Jake I turned him over to the Aurors in the alley and finished the shopping." After Henry finished his recap of the events, Connor nodded his head before saying.

"So much for not causing a scene huh," he said with a chuckle.

"Tell me about it, I doubt the charges will stick but hopefully it will cause him to think twice in the future."

"Right well go get some rest you have watch again tonight, and we're meeting with the Order tomorrow to discuss the plan for the attack. Also, a special contractor will be joining us at the meeting and for the attack-"

"You mean…?"

"Yes he just received clearance today to re-enter the country now that we have jurisdiction over the magical world." His statement caused a grin to come on Henry's face.

"The Death Eaters won't know what hit them," he said before getting up from the table heading to the staircase hearing Molly speak as he began to walk up the stairs.

"Who are you all talking about?" was the last thing he heard before he was out of earshot. Stopping at Ginny's room on his way up he peered in to see her sound asleep, assured that she was safe he closed the door and went to his room to get some much-needed rest.

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Albus Dumbledore was currently sitting at his desk in the headmaster's office at Hogwarts pondering the enigma that was Henry Peters or, as he believed Harry Potter. Before him lay all the information that he had on Harry's disappearance which included newspapers with headlines declaring the missing boy-who-lived after he failed to show up at Hogwarts. "Where have you been all this time Harry?" He picked up a muggle police report that detailed an incident at St. Mary's orphanage dealing with a boy matching Harry's description that seemed to point to accidental magic as the cause. With a sigh, he put the report down before picking up a copy of the Daily Prophet dated three days after the police report. "What is the connection?" he said before laying the newspaper down again. The headline read:

_Azkaban Inmate Mysteriously Escapes!_

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_A/N well there you have it next chapter is a big one, one of my favorite characters finally joins the story and we finally get to find out where Harry has been and what he has been doing this whole time.  
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_ps: if you cant figure out who the contractor is just read the end of the chapter again, if you still cant there might be something wrong with you ha  
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	6. Before the Storm

Merlin Protocol

Chapter 6

Before the Storm

Nute

AN: Well I'm finally back with a new chapter and I apologize for the long wait but school and lack of motivation had struck me. But anyway here is the new chapter with most of the back story you all have been wondering about so I hope it doesn't disappoint. As always please review because it always motivates me to write more.

It was a full house at the Burrow the night of the Order meeting so Mr. Weasley had expanded the kitchen to accommodate the extra bodies. This was where Henry currently found himself, sitting at the table surrounded by his team and the leaders of the other squads going on the mission. Looking around the room, he saw the Weasley family and Hermione down the table talking amongst themselves with Remus leaning against the kitchen wall in conversation with Tonks and Kingsley. Running out of names that he knew he took note of others that he did not recognize around the room, many of them watching him and his team with curiosity and mild apprehension. Drawn out of his observations Henry turned hearing Jake's voice asking, "You ready for this mate?"

"Just another day, eh?"

"Too right," Frank said from across the table as any further conversation was interrupted by the sound of someone coming through the floo. Turning to see Dumbledore stepping out of the fireplace all of the voices in the room died down as Connor stood up and made his way towards the professor.

"Captain are you ready to begin?" the old man said as Connor reached him.

"Almost professor the major and our guest will be here momentarily."

"Good but I must insist once more that you share the identity of this contractor with me, just so I can guarantee the security of this meeting of course."

"You let us worry about the security Dumbledore," as everyone in the room was following the back and forth between the two they were again distracted by the sound of the floo activating. Major Taylor stepped out of the fireplace as he surveyed the room with his gaze coming to rest on the team that still sat at the table. With a slight nod of his head, the team stood and came to stand around the fireplace while the major moved to where Connor and Dumbledore were standing.

"Good to see you professor our last guest should be here right about… now." This time every eye in the room was focused on the floo hoping to get the first glimpse of the mysterious final guest. The fire turned green once again depositing the traveler, those watching took in the tall masculine figure dressed in the same fatigues as the rest of the soldiers as he brushed the ash from his clothes. Finally looking up giving his audience the first look at his face they all froze at the sight of Sirius Black's grinning back at them.

"I know I look good in this uniform but damn you guys," he said after the silence had lasted more than a few seconds. His words snapped the members of the order out of there shock causing the room to fill with their angry shouts as many wands were drawn. Having expected this Jake and Frank drew their pistols while Henry raised a shield that blocked a few curses that had been sent their way.

'BANG'

"That is enough, Dumbledore restrain your people," Major Taylor stowed his wand as he spoke glaring at Dumbledore.

"Everyone put your wands down there must be a good reason that the major would bring Mr. Black here." At the old man's words, most in the room lowered their wands but some were not as easily convinced.

"He's a traitor Albus, he already escaped from Azkaban once he needs to be dealt with now," came the angry growl of Moody who had both eyes and his wand fixed on Sirius. With a curse on his lips, he was halted by the feeling of a wand pressed to his throat and an empty hand looking down to notice his wand was no longer there.

"Easy there Moody, I wouldn't want to have to 'deal with you' for attempting to attack a government agent," Henry said before moving his wand away from the man's throat and tossing him his wand back. "Don't make me have to take it again."

"Enough, Mr. Black is here as an agent of the non-magical government and has been pardoned of any crimes in both the non-magical and magical world on the authority of the Prime Minister. He is to be treated with the respect and professionalism afforded by his position," the major spoke with an air of finality.

"That may be but that man betrayed this organization causing the deaths of the Potters, 12 muggles, and Peter Pettigrew so what proof do you have of Mr. Black's innocence?" Dumbledore said causing many in the room to nod in agreement.

"Would a veritaserum confession suffice professor?" Sirius said coming from behind Jake and Frank.

"Yes that should allow us to get to the bottom of this matter," he said after a moment of thought.

"Good thing I brought some with me then," Sirius said reaching into his pocket and withdrawing a vial of clear liquid. "Snape I believe you should be able to verify that this is real," with a nod from Dumbledore the potions master took the vial from Sirius with a glare. After examining the liquid Snape confirmed that it was indeed veritaserum and handed it back to Sirius. "If you would do the honors major," he said extending the potion to Taylor. After giving Sirius a few drops of the truth serum his eyes glazed over and he relaxed into the chair he sat in.

"Let's begin shall we?" the major said to the group before turning to Sirius. "What is your name?"

"Sirius Orion Black"

"Were you the Potter's secret keeper?"

"No"

"Who was?"

"Peter, we switched at the last minute because I thought it would be too obvious that they would choose me." A few gasps were heard around the room at his answer.

"Are you a supporter the terrorist known as Lord Voldemort?"

"No."

"Did you kill Peter Pettigrew and twelve non-magical individuals?"

"No, Peter killed the muggles and cut off his finger before turning into his animagus form and getting away." After the confessions looks of shock and sorrow could be seen around the room, many could not believe that it was true.

"Does that settle it professor?"

"Yes, yes that is more than enough major." Dumbledore said his eyes vacant of their usual twinkling. The major administered the antidote to Sirius causing him to become alert once again, "I'm so sorry Sirius, if I had known…"

"It's in the past Albus, we need to look ahead," Sirius said before turning to the rest of the room most of whom were still in shock. "Alright there Moony?" he said bringing Remus back to reality.

"Sirius, I'm so sorry I never should have believed that you would betray Lily and James," he said moving to Sirius with guilt written on his face.

"What did I just say to Dumbledore? What's done is done and I have moved on so don't feel guilty because there's no way you could have known." When Remus reached Sirius he held out his hand seeking forgiveness, but Sirius just smirked at him before drawing the werewolf into a hug letting him know that all was forgiven.

"Wotcher Sirius, not sure if you remember me…" Tonks spoke after the men had separated.

"Nymphadora? My have you grown up I haven't seen you since you were a little girl," he said smirking at the glare her real name solicited from Tonks.

"It's Tonks and that's the only time I'm going to tell you," she warned. "But it's good to see you again Sirius, mom always held out that you were innocent."

"Give her my best then, but there will be time for this later for we need to get to the matter at hand." Turning back to the rest of the room he said, "I'm sure that all of you have questions and I will try to answer them, but first why doesn't everyone take a seat as this is a rather long story." After everyone had sat around the enlarged table Sirius spoke again, "Now I can only tell you part of the story but I'm gonna need some help to tell it all." As he said this he locked eyes with Henry, "It's time pup, orders came this morning to bring the Order into the loop." Henry gave a resigned nod as Sirius turned to the members of the Order," what you are about to hear is a classified state secret and as such is to be protected at all costs, I must insist that all of you take an oath on your magic to not reveal this information." The order turned to Dumbledore who only nodded in acceptance urging his followers to do the same. After all in the room had swore to protect the secret they were about to learn Sirius turned back to Henry and gave him a nod. Seeing the signal the attention of the room turned from Sirius to Henry who stood as an emotionless mask came over his face.

"I want to thank all of you for swearing to keep my secret, the truth is that you were correct professor," he said looking at Dumbledore noticing the previously absent twinkle returning to his eyes. "My name isn't Henry Peters, it's Harry Potter," for the second time that evening everyone in the room was frozen in shock. Looking to the Weasley's Henry saw a mix of emotions played out across their faces. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and Ron all had looks of awe while the twins were shocked silent and Hermione looked like something had just clicked as a triumphant look came over her face. Coming to the last redhead and the one he was most nervous about Henry looked to Ginny finding wonder and a little confusion on her face.

"Well now that that's out of the way we can begin our tale, I feel it would be best to start in the beginning and please try not to interrupt me." Sirius said standing as Henry took his seat again, "It all started just after I had graduated from Hogwarts, that summer before I was to begin auror training I was approached by an individual with an interesting proposition. He told me that his name was Miles, still don't know if that's true or not, but anyway he said he was from a group called MI6," he was interrupted by a slight gasp from Hermione as most in the room just looked on in confusion. "It's a portion of the muggle government that deals with intelligence and covert operations, basically the things that nobody ever knows about, but he told me that they were aware of our world and the threat of Voldemort" he paused as most around the table flinched at the name. "He offered me some very unorthodox training to help combat the coming threat in return for information on the events that were occurring in the wizarding world. I didn't see how I could turn down the offer so I accepted and left to train for six months."

"That's where you went," Remus said.

"Yes, that's why I was gone, but when I returned I worked for both the Order and MI6 trying to fight Voldemort. That is until that night after Lily and James were killed I gave in to my grief and rage going after Peter even though I knew I could prove my innocence, needless to say we all know how that turned outs. After that I went to Azkaban and we come to the part of the story that I am unable to tell," Sirius finished before sitting and all eyes turned to where Henry sat. Standing up a mask of indifference came over his face as he looked to those waiting to hear his tale.

"As some of you know after the night my parents were killed I was left with my Aunt and Uncle where I was supposed to live a happy, normal childhood," his eyes came to rest on Dumbledore as he said this. "But I can assure you that my time there was anything but that, I was treated with loathing and contempt on good days. However that is unimportant to the story, I lived with my relatives for almost five years before they got sick of me and left me at an orphanage in London" taking a moment to compose himself Henry continued. "Life at the orphanage was better than my relatives, I was fed at least, but mostly I was left alone. I had been living there for three years when something happened, one of the bullies at the orphanage was attacking me when my I lost control of my magic. My magic threw the other boy across the room injuring him and the workers at the orphanage called the muggle authorities because they felt I was 'unsafe'. Eventually the muggle authorities showed up and took me away after hearing the story from the workers. From there I was taken to the police station where they began to ask me all sorts of questions about what had happened, this continued for some time before two men in suits showed up. They spoke briefly with the police before they began to ask me their own questions, who was I, what happened to my family, that kind of stuff."

"Who were they?" Hermione asked when Henry paused; he gave her a small smile before answering.

"They were from the MI6; they had overhead the call to the police and suspected that it was magic so they sent people to investigate. When they talked to me and ran my name through their database, it raised some flags. They were aware of my history and importance," the last words were directed at the headmaster signaling that they were aware of the prophecy Dumbledore had thought secret. "They knew that I couldn't go back to an orphanage or worse jail so they contacted their superior who happened to be 'Miles' from before. Miles told them to take me to a safe house until my guardian would be available. He knew that Sirius was my godfather as well as being innocent; he came up with a plan to free him so that he could take his rightful role as my guardian."

"A bloody ballsy one at that," the major said from down the table causing Henry and Sirius to grin.

"He sent a team much like mine to break into Azkaban and get Sirius out, the major here was one of the ones given the task," all eyes turned to Major Taylor at this statement.

"Yea and that's the last I'll be seeing of that place, I got to give it to you Black I don't know how you lasted eight years in that pit." This caused Sirius to chuckle before turning back to Henry to continue the story.

"Right, so once Sirius was free from Azkaban they cleaned him up before taking him to the safe house that I was staying at."

"That was the best day of my life, I got it from here pup," at that Henry sat back down with a sigh of relief. "Once we were reunited I talked with Miles and we decided that the best course of action would be to leave the country. The United States magical and non-magical governments work together much more than ours does so when the MI6 explained the situation and sought their aid they were more than willing to help. They set us up with new identities, Henry and James Peters, as well as granting us dual citizenship. After everything was arranged, we left England for the U.S., once there we settled in upstate New York to start our new lives. For the next couple of year we led normal lives just trying to come to terms with our pasts, for we both had our demons haunting us but we got through it together. Eventually it became time for Henry to begin his magical education, he got acceptance letters from schools all across the U.S. but only one caught his interest. It was from a school that before then I had thought to be a myth, The Academy." This cause a few in the room to gasp, looking around Sirius saw looks of surprise on the faces of Tonks, Kingsley, and Moody.

"What's The Academy?" asked George his look of confusion matched by many others in the room.

"The Magical Military Academy," Henry responded to the question. "Jake and I's alma mater, each year they select 50 candidates for acceptance from all around the world to be educated in magic, magical and non-magical combat, strategy, and so on. The decision was easy given my past and the threat of Voldemort still out there, I accepted their invitation and began my schooling shortly after my 11th birthday. For the next 7 years I worked my ass of so I could be prepared for what was surely to come. I owe much of who I am to that place, it taught me everything I know and made me who I am today."

"Cum opera venit…" Jake spoke from beside Henry.

"Magnitudine," Henry finished. Seeing the confused looks the others at the table wore he said, "School motto, but anyway I graduated from The Academy earlier this year in May and was deployed with the 22nd in June before rescuing Ginny and coming here."

"And that brings an end to our story bringing us to the present. Now there will be time for questions later it's time to speak on the matter at hand, the raid tomorrow." Sirius said this snapping the others out of their thoughts to concentrate on the plan for tomorrow. Casting a spell that projected a map depicting a shipping yard and docks he said, "now I'm gonna go through this rather fast so I'll answer any questions afterwards." After making sure everyone was paying attention he began,"we have received intelligence that a large number of foreign Death Eaters will be entering the country tomorrow. Intel indicates that multiple portkeys will deposit them here, the port of Liverpool. The plan is that Kilo's 1-4 will insert into these alleys surrounding this square." He pointed to a clearing on the map next to the water and surrounded by buildings on the other three sides. "That's where we believe they'll appear, while Kilo is getting into position Bravo 1 and 2 will take up positions in these buildings on either side of the square to provide over watch. Now with the exception of Henry's team the rest of the squads are non-magical so this is where the Order comes in, two of you will be assigned to each squad to provide shielding and support as well as emergency exfil. The rest of you will be tasked with establishing wards, Mr. Weasley I understand that you may be of use here," Sirius said looking at Bill who nodded back. "Good so you will set up anti-apparition and portkey wards so they can't escape. Once all teams are in position we wait for the Death Eaters to portkey in before we confront them, command wants us to take some prisoners so give them the chance to surrender. Make no mistake though if they attack its open season."

"Is that really necessary Sirius?" The headmaster began.

"It is Dumbledore, this is war, not one that we started but one that we'll be damn sure to finish by any means necessary," Sirius said before turning to the others. "At first glance this appears to be a straightforward operation but make no mistake things can go very wrong so stay sharp. Two little birds have been tasked to give us air support if things go fubar out there, other than that everybody be sure to rest up tonight because we have a busy day tomorrow." He finished as a predatory smile came upon his face. "Anybody with questions feel free to talk to me after the meeting but other than that I believe this meeting is over, headmaster?"

"Quite, tonight has given me much to think on, I believe that I will take my leave now, until tomorrow." Dumbledore rose as he spoke moving to the fireplace to return to Hogwarts.

"Well then it seems this meeting has, wait I almost forgot," he said causing those beginning to stand to sit back in their seats. "We feel that it is time to establish a more secure headquarters for our efforts against Voldemort so I am opening up my house to all of you. You can trust me when I say it is well protected including a fidelius with yours truly as secret keeper. Arthur I feel it would be pertinent to move you and your family there immediately for your protection."

"Very well, it would give me some peace of mind to know that they're safe," Arthur said after a moment of thought.

"Great well that really does bring this meeting to an end," at that many stood, a few moving to ask Sirius questions but most leaving the room. Henry motioned to Jake and they made their way out the back door taking seats on a bench looking out on the woods surrounding the Burrow. After a moment of silence Henry reached into his pocket withdrawing two cigarettes extending one to Jake.

"I'm good; you know that shit will kill you right?"

"Yea well what isn't trying to kill me now a days, besides blame it on Stevens he's the one who always brought them on training exercises." Henry said before lighting the cigarette with his finger, exhaling the smoke with a sigh.

"You alright mate?" Jake asked seeing Henry zone out.

"Yea just don't like thinking about that shit, and I'm interested to see how the Weasley's act around me now."

"Yea how do you think your little crush is going to react," Jake said with a laugh causing Henry to shove him.

"Piss off," Henry could not help the slight smile that turned his mouth up at the thought of Ginny.

"See this is exactly what I'm talking about," Jake said his chuckles turning to full laughter at his friends antics.

"What's so funny?" The voice coming from behind them caused Jake to begin laughing even harder as Henry began coughing out of shock. Fighting the urge to cough Henry turned around and saw Ginny coming to stand behind them, quickly banishing his cigarette he replied.

"Nothing Jake just thinks he's a comedian when he's not very funny," Henry fixed Jake with a glare that caused him to slowly stop laughing as he stood and made for the house.

"I happen to think that I'm hilarious but I guess it's above some," he said still chuckling as he left Henry and Ginny alone. Henry turned to Ginny to find her looking at him intently, he could tell that she was expecting something.

"Listen I know that I lied to you and your family but that was to protect all of us. Besides it doesn't change anything, I'm still the guy that you've gotten to know. Just because I was born with a different name doesn't make me a different person."

"I understand why you had to keep it a secret, and it certainly was a shock but I seem to remember a promise you made to me to tell me about your life when you were able to and it looks like that time has come." Ginny said with a smirk causing Henry to relax knowing that she wasn't mad.

"I believe you are correct but I'm afraid it will have to wait because we need to get inside and you need to get packed to move to headquarters."

"Okay but I'm holding you to that promise," she said standing up as Henry did the same.

"And I'll be more than happy to oblige you," Henry said as they made their way back to the Burrow.

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AN: Cum opere venit magnitudine = With hard work comes greatness


	7. Fubar

Merlin Protocol

Chapter 7: Fubar

Nute

AN: Well I know it has been a while but I'm finally back with a new chapter, I hope you enjoy it and as always please leave a review to let me know what you think.

"3…2…1," when the countdown reached zero Henry felt the familiar tug of a portkey as he and the rest of his squad were taken to the site of their next operation. Feeling the ground come beneath his feet again Henry noticed that the night was dark and the air still in the empty port, undisturbed by the flurry of activity present during operating hours. After checking his sector for any enemies, Henry turned to his squad for their next move.

"Okay our position is two building north, we're gonna move through this alley to get into position and wait for the other squads. Now let's move out and maintain light and noise discipline." As Connor finished speaking, he motioned for Frank to take the lead and the group moved efficiently through the alley before coming to their designated position for the ambush. Stacking up against the wall they positioned themselves around the corner from the clearing were they believed the Death Eaters would appear. "Kilo 1 in position," Connor spoke into the radio as they waited for the other squads to take their positions on the other corners and the roofs overlooking the clearing.

"Kilo 2 in position."

"Bravo 1 in position."

"Kilo 3 in position," the radio calls continued to crackle through Henry's earpiece until all squads were in their positions and awaiting orders.

"Control this is Kilo 1-1 as teams are set and we are awaiting green light."

"Rodger that Kilo 1-1 mission is a go, remember the higher ups want prisoners but use your discretion. The ball is in your court," the voice of the Major responded through the radio. Connor turned back to his squad signaling them to get ready before getting back on the radio.

"You heard the man mission is a go, we are five minutes from their supposed arrival time. Kilo 3 are the wards up?"

"Rodger, Weasley just finished putting up anti-apparition and has the anti-portkey ready to go when they get here."

"Good Bravo 1 and 2 I want you ready with over watch, if this goes bad I want you to provide cover so we can establish defensive positions."

"Rodger that."

"Everyone else buckle up this is an entirely new type of enemy you will be facing so stay sharp and remember your training. Two minutes we go on two clicks." With that, the radio became silent as Henry and the rest of his team waited in the darkness. The seconds ticked by with an agonizing slowness as Henry felt his mind think back to earlier when his squad had left headquarters for Hereford.

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Henry shouldered his pack as he looked around the room he was staying in at Sirius's family home and the new headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix. He was glad to have a room to himself again even if it wasn't as nice as the one he lived in back home, but that's what almost 20 years of neglect will do to a place. His thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door that he opened with a motion of his hand, seeing Ginny standing there he could not help but smile. Gesturing for her to come in he closed the door behind her, "Hey, how are you?" he asked her.

"Good, not a big fan of this house though," she said with a laugh.

"Trust me you're not alone there," Henry said laughing with her.

"So you're about to leave?"

"Yea, time to go to work," Henry said with a crooked smile.

"Please be safe," Ginny said as Henry noticed how worried she was beginning to look. "I don't want anything to happen to you."

"Don't worry everything will be fine, this is what I've been training for my entire life and my team is the best there is," he said as he moved to her and opened his arms for a hug that Ginny quickly accepted.

"Promise?" her words were muffled as she spoke into his chest. Henry looked down at the girl in his arms and spoke.

"I promise." They stood there for a few moments longer before they were interrupted by a knock at the door. Stepping away from each other Henry opened the door to find Jake ready to go.

"C'mon Henry time to go," Henry looked at Ginny one more time before moving to Jake as they began to head down the stairs. As Henry walked down the stairs he heard Jake stop and lean back into the room to say, "Oh and Ms. Weasley we will be discussing what you and young Henry were doing in there with the door closed, nothing scandalous I hope." Henry could not help but smile at his friend while he continued down the stairs.

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Henry was broken out of his musing by the call of, "30 seconds" over the radio. Shaking his head to get his bearings back, he brought his focus back to the present, cursing his lapse in discipline. After a few moments, Henry heard the sound of a portkey depositing people into the clearing they were staged around. Hearing people begin to move around, a voice called out.

"Schnell haben wir nicht viel Zeit, "Henry heard the foreign accent and got ready for things to kick off.

"Click…click," the sound over the radio spurred Henry and his team into action as they rushed around the corner and drew their weapons. Spreading out into a line as the other teams came from the surrounding buildings they quickly surrounded the group of 10 Death Eaters the portkey had brought.

"Put your hands up! We have you surrounded."

"Drop your wands!"

"Let me see your hands!" The voices of the SAS rang into the air as they rushed the enemy. The Death Eaters stood their ground but didn't reach for their wands, the leader stepped forth and motioned that he wanted to speak as the voices died down.

"That is no way to treat guests in your country is it?" the man spoke in a thick German accent.

"Raise your hands or we will open fire on you, we have you surrounded." Connor yelled to the man.

"Ah but that is where you are wrong," as the man finished speaking Henry could hear the pops of apparition in the distance.

"Sir, Kilo 3-1, we have hostiles appearing beyond the wards and moving towards us from all directions." As the voice spoke over the radio Henry saw the Death Eaters begin to reach for their wands.

"Waste them, fall back to Bravo 1's position." Henry let loose a spray of bullets as his teammates followed suit while the other teams fell back. Henry continued firing after his first target dropped, the initial barrage of bullets trimmed the enemy to three before they were able to maintain shields. "Fall back, fire and move." Henry and Jake continued to fire at the remaining enemies as Frank and Connor moved to the building behind them before turning around and firing at the enemies.

"Move!" Jake yelled to Henry as they both began to fall back, moving through the doors of the building they broke out the windows and began covering Frank and Connor as the made it into the building.

"Kilo 3-1 we need those wards down now." Connor voice rang in Henry's ear as he dropped the enemies down to two.

"Sir Weasley says it will be at least 5 minutes." Henry heard Connor swear behind him before replying.

"We need to hold this position until the wards are down. Control this is Kilo 1-1 mission is fubar, we have an unknown number of enemy hostiles converging on our position and are unable to exfil copy."

"Copy that Kilo 1-1 you have to hold that position until exfil is available; we have little birds on standby 60 seconds out ready for tasking." As Henry was hearing the major speak over the radio, he began to notice figures dressed in black coming from the alleys across the clearing from them.

"Rodger that," Connor spoke before Henry interrupted him.

"Hostiles coming from the north," Henry yelled as he began to fire at the enemy who took cover and returned fire. Curses began to hit the building forcing Henry to take cover as he reloaded his weapon.

"This is Kilo 2-1; we have hostiles attempting to breach the rear of the building."

"Kilo 3 move to support Kilo 2 in the back, everyone else focus fire on the alleys across the way and order members shield the building so we don't get buried." Henry popped up to engage the enemy after reloading to find the enemy advancing under shields while others sent curses at the soldiers. Looking down the sights of his weapon he aimed for a small gap that had become visible between two shields, he waited until an enemy moved into the gap before firing three shots that quickly dropped the target. After dropping his target he let loose a spray of bullets to suppress the advancing enemy before ducking down to reload again.

"This is Kilo 3-1 the building has been breached and we have men down, we are falling back to the second floor with Kilo 2, copy"

"Copy that all squads fall back to the second floor and cover all entrances. Control we need those little birds now." Connor spoke into the radio as he rushed to the stairs with Frank as Henry and Jake covered them. "Move," Connor yelled as he and Frank covered them. Henry made his way up the stairs with the rest of the team following. Coming to the top of the stairs Henry saw the rest of the teams taking positions and trading fire with the enemy down the back stairway. As Frank and Connor moved to the window, passing Order members busy casting shields on the building, Henry took a position at the top of the stairs with Jake opposite him as they trained their weapons at the base of the staircase.

"Rodger Kilo 1-1, Hunter 1 and 2 are inbound for a pass ready for your direction."

"Hunter 1 and 2 we need you to make a pass of the clearing in front of our position to eliminate all-"the end of Connor's transmission was drowned out by the sound of the door to the bottom floor being blasted off its hinges. Henry looked over and made eye contact with Jake before he flashed him a series of signals. Receiving a nod in response both Henry and Jake withdrew a grenade and pulled the pin, after a moment of waiting they tossed the grenades down the stairs where they could hear the sound of people rushing into the building. Another moment later the building was rocked by the explosion of the grenades, soon replaced by the sounds of moans from the bottom of the stairs and gunfire as the soldiers fought the advancing Death Eaters.

"Man down!" a voice called out causing Henry to turn around to see men dragging the fallen soldier to cover before beginning to work on him. Henry was broken out of his distraction by a cutting curse that hit him in the arm causing him to fall to the floor. Cursing himself Henry got up and made sure his wound wasn't too serious. Stepping back into the stairway Henry raise his rifle and continued to fire at the temporarily halted enemy.

"Peters, ammo!" Henry heard Frank yell from the window, turning around he threw a magazine from his vest to Frank who reloaded and continued to fire. Turning back to the stairs Henry saw the Death Eaters about a third of the way up, ducking back as a curse hit the wall in front of him he felt the sting of shrapnel attacking his exposed skin.

"How long on those wards!" Connor yelled over the noise to Bill Weasley who was frantically moving his wand and muttering under his breath.

"60 seconds," Bill shouted while continuing to wave his wand. Henry turned back to the stairway firing a burst of bullets that dropped two enemies but he was forced to duck a jet of green light that rushed his way.

"Shit," he muttered under his breath before leaning back out and retuning fire as the Death Eaters continued to make their way up the stairs.

"Need help over here," Henry heard a voice call from behind him. Looking to Jake and receiving a nod Henry rushed to the source of the call to find the soldiers taking cover from a volley of spells coming up the stair way. Casting a shield over the stair Henry signaled the men to draw grenades, when the men were ready Henry lowered his shield and they threw the grenades down the stairs. After the resulting explosion, Henry moved to the top of the stair and began to fire. Dropping another target Henry began to hear the familiar sound of helicopters in the distance. As the helicopters got closer, Henry continued to fire down the stairs as he saw another soldier go down by the window.

"Kilo 1-1 this is Hunter 1 we are inbound hot for gun run," as the voice in the radio went silent it was replaced by the overwhelming sound of the helicopters unleashing a deadly barrage of bullets on their targets. His joy was short lived as the sound of the Death Eaters already in the building rushing the stairs reached his ears. Continuing to fire Henry saw a jet of green rush up the stairs and he tried to yell out but his voice caught in his throat as the spell hit the man next to him causing the soldier to fall to the floor. Henry watched the man fall before returning fire as he felt an overwhelming sense of rage fill him, continuing to fire until his ammo was spent Henry dropped his rifle and drew his wand. Stepping out into the stairway Henry began to send his own jets of green down the stairs ripping through the shields that were protecting the Death Eaters from the bullets.

"The wards are down, let's get out of here," the voice of Bill Weasley rang out before he grabbed his emergency portkey and disappeared.

"Retreat, everyone get out of here," Connors voice rang as the soldiers began to activate their emergency portkeys that took them back to headquarters. Henry continued to fire curses as the men next to him retreated, feeling a curse strike him in the leg Henry heard an audible snap and fell to one knee.

"Henry!" Henry recognized Jakes voice from behind him as he turned around to see Jake moving towards him only to fall from a curse sent up the stairs. Seeing his friend fall Henry conjured brick walls to seal the stairs and buy him a few moments. Seeing that they were the only two left Henry forced himself to his feet and moved to Jake. Henry forced his emergency portkey into his hands causing Jake to disappear leaving Henry alone as the conjured walls exploded and Death Eaters began to enter the second floor. Holding a shield with one hand and firing curses with the other Henry made his way over to the body of his fallen comrade. Unable to block the curses coming from all sides Henry was thrown to the ground as he was struck from behind. Falling over the body in front of him grasped the portkey attached to the vest, and spoke the activation word.

"Fubar," feeling the tug of the portkey as the Death Eaters were closing in on him Henry saw the kitchen at Sirius's appear before him. Realizing that he was safe he gave in to the blackness that was creeping into his vision.

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"I think he's coming around," Henry heard muffled voices as he began drifting back into consciousness.

"Go get Madame Pomfrey," Henry cracked his eyes open as the voices became clear only to snap them shut at the brightness of the room. Hearing a soft chuckle at his side Henry opened his eyes fully to see Sirius sitting next to his bed. Looking around Henry took in the room he was in noticing the beds identical to his lining the walls and the sterile scent in the air. Seeing the figures of fellow soldiers in a few of the beds, Henry turned back to his godfather.

"Where am I?" Henry asked.

"Welcome to Hogwarts pup, I didn't imagine your first memory of the place would be waking up in the hospital wing but what are you gonna do? All the wounded got transferred here because there wasn't space at headquarters," Sirius said with a grim smile.

"Casualties?"

"One dead, took a killing curse, and seven wounded including you." As Sirius spoke, Henry saw the memory of the man next to him falling under the killing curse play through his head, the details as vivid as when it actually happened. "You okay?" his godfather's voice brought Henry out of the memories and he looked back at Sirius.

"Yea I'll be fine, how is Jake?"

"Good as new, ah speak of the devil," Henry followed Sirius's gaze and saw Jake leading Madam Pomfrey towards them.

"Pleasure to finally meet you Mr. Peters I'm Madam Pomfrey, now let's see how you're coming along," the matron began to wave her wand over Henry as she cast diagnostic charms. "Good all your bones are healed and any internal damage has been fixed, I'd recommend you rest for the next couple of day but I'm sure you'll ignore me like your friend here." Pomfrey looked to Jake as she finished speaking.

"Like I said, I'll take it into consideration," Jake said with a cheeky grin. Madam Pomfrey just rolled her eyes before turning back to Henry.

"Well your free to go but do try and take it easy," with that Pomfrey moved on to check on her other patients. Henry threw off his blankets and sat up on the side of the bed.

"How long was I out?"

"Just about 16 hours, you were pretty banged up when you got back," Sirius said and Henry nodded.

"Listen mate I want to thank you, you really saved my ass out there," Jake spoke up from the foot of the bed looking uncharacteristically serious.

"You know you don't have to thank me, you watch my back and I watch yours," Henry locked eyes with Jake as he spoke to convey his sincerity. "Now where are my clothes these pajamas itch?"

Sirius chuckled before responding, "The clothes you were wearing got trashed but I brought you a fresh pair of fatigues. Get dressed we have a meeting with the Major and Dumbledore in 10, Connor and Frank are meeting us there." Taking the clothes from Sirius Henry stepped into the bathroom and changed. Walking out Henry saw Sirius and Jake waiting, when he reached them Jake reached into his bag and withdrew Henry's leg holster and sidearm.

"Thought you might want this," Jake said as Henry took the weapon and strapped it around his thigh before connecting it to his belt.

"Thanks; now let's go I believe we have a meeting to attend." Motioning for them to take the lead Henry fell in line with Jake as they followed Sirius out of the hospital wing. Walking through the halls of the school Henry took in the beauty of the castle, thinking about all of the stories Sirius had told him about this place. Coming to the staircases that Henry noticed were moving he asked Sirius, "What's this meeting about?"

"All I know is that Dumbledore has a proposition he wants us to hear." Nodding his head Henry continued to walk in silence following Sirius. Coming to a statue of a gargoyle the group came to a halt as Sirius gave the password. Stepping onto the staircase that was revealed by the statue the group made their way to the door at the top of the stairs, Sirius reached out to knock on the door but a voice called out before he reached it.

"Ah good our last guests please come in," Dumbledore's voice said. Following Sirius through the door Henry saw that Major Taylor and the rest of his squad were already there. "Gentlemen thank you for joining us, I hope you are feeling well. But let us get down to my proposition, I understand that you wish to begin training our auror force to better combat Voldemort?" receiving a nod from the Major and Sirius he continued. "Well with the increasing threat of Voldemort I believe it is necessary to improve the security of the school, so I thought we might be able to help each other. I propose that your team use the castle and its grounds to train the aurors during the upcoming school year. By being here, you will be providing the extra security that I believe necessary." When the headmaster finished speaking Henry looked to his team holding a silent conversation before Sirius replied to the headmaster.

"That sounds like a fair offer but we will have to discuss it amongst ourselves, we will have you an answer before the end of the day. If that is all headmaster we must take our leave to discuss this matter," Sirius said as he stood followed closely by the rest of the soldiers. Receiving a nod the men made their way to the hall down the staircase and began to discuss the proposition.

"What do you think Black? You know Dumbledore the best," Major Taylor asked.

"I think it's a good idea, I may not fully trust him but I believe he always has good intentions. What do you guys think?" Sirius asked Henry and his team.

"What can it hurt? It gives us a secure place to begin training and another base of operations." Connor said. Seeing nods from the rest of the squad, the Major decided.

"Alright it's settled then, you will establish the training program here during the upcoming school year. I will get together with Dumbledore and the minister to coordinate the logistics, when you get here I want a full security briefing of the castle and wards and plans to repel attacks. But for now get back to headquarters and get some rest, last night may have been fucked but you fought well and left no man behind." The Major's eyes met Henry's as he finished speaking before he moved back up the stairs to the headmaster's office.

"Everyone grab the portkey so I can go get some damn sleep," Frank said as he held out a length of rope that the squad grabbed. As he felt the portkey activate Henry could not help but think, 'looks like I get to go to Hogwarts after all'.

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schnell haben wir nicht viel Zeit- quick we do not have much time


	8. Back To School

Merlin Protocol

Chapter 8 "Back to School"

Nute

A/N: Wow two chapters in two months I'm on a roll. But seriously here is a new chapter of Merlin Protocol, I finally have the whole story planned out so I know what I'm working towards. As always please read and leave a review to let me know what you think about it.

Henry sat in the kitchen at headquarters listening to Sirius fill him in on how things back home had been since he left in May. Noticing the clock on the wall strike midnight Henry realized that today he would be going to Hogwarts for, as the Major put it, an 'extended deployment'. Since returning to headquarters after their blown operation Henry and his team had settled into a routine for the remaining week before they were to ship out again. When he was not on watch Henry filled his time with planning for the training program the aurors were going to go through or trying to find a moment to relax. Ironically, the only time Henry was able to find to relax was his nightly watch, which he usually spent alone in the kitchen with the usual late night visitors. During this time he often found his mind wandering back to the night a week ago replaying the memories of his comrades falling followed by images of his own curses striking down enemies as they rushed up the stairs.

"Earth to Henry… Henry," Sirius's voice broke Henry out of his recollection as he focused back on his godfather. "Welcome back you zoned out there for a minute. Are you okay?"

"Huh? Oh yea I'm fine, mind just wandered off a bit," Henry replied. "You were saying?" Henry saw his godfather give him a concerned look before dropping the issue.

"I was saying that the Major said were going to have 30 trainees this first semester and we're going to have to cram six months of training into four. I don't feel sorry for them," Sirius said with a chuckle as he thought about the brutal training regimen he had gone through. "So the plan is to start on the 2nd and go for 12 hours a day until we can get them into shape."

"I-" Henry stopped talking as he heard the noise of someone coming down the stairs, unconsciously reaching for his pistol he relaxed when the door opened and he saw Ginny coming into the kitchen. This had become a regular occurrence over the past week with Ginny coming down after everyone had gone to sleep and the two talking late into the night. They swapped stories from their childhoods, like the time the twins turned Ron's teddy bear into a giant spider scaring him for life, or when Henry charmed Sirius's clothes to disappear in the middle of a date leaving him naked in a busy restaurant. During these talks Henry could not help but feel drawn towards Ginny, it was more than the need to protect her he felt after rescuing her. Henry could not explain it but he felt close to Ginny.

"Why hello Ms. Weasley, what has you up at this hour?" Sirius asked with a smile on his face, he knew that Ginny had been coming down here every night to see Henry and couldn't pass up the opportunity.

"Hey Sirius, I couldn't sleep so I thought I'd come down for a cup of tea, "Ginny said smoothly.

"Are you sure you're not just down here to visit my godson?" Seeing the girl blush Sirius threw his head back and laughed before standing from the table, "I'll leave you two alone, pup don't do anything I wouldn't do." Sirius gave Henry a smile and wink before leaving the kitchen. When the two were left alone Ginny took the seat across from Henry and gave him a smile.

"Hey Ginny," Henry said smiling back at her. "You all packed for school?"

"Yea I finished earlier today. I can't believe this is my last year at Hogwarts, I wish you had gone there you would of loved it." Henry's smile became wider as he thought of the surprise she was going to get tonight.

"Me too Sirius used to talk about it all the time, but I got to spend the better part of a day there last week," Henry said. He noticed Ginny's expression change when as he spoke, she had not been happy about him getting hurt or about not being able to visit him in the hospital. She had let him know this very clearly the first night back when she yelled at him about being a, as she put it, 'stupid, reckless prat'. Henry chuckled at the memory before quieting when Ginny's eyes narrowed.

"Do I need to remind you of my thoughts about your stay in the hospital?" Ginny said.

"Nope that's not necessary, you made yourself very clear," Henry said quickly.

"Good, glad that we're clear," Ginny said before shifting her eyes to her cup of tea as the room became quiet. After a few moments Ginny looked back up with a sad look, "I'm going to miss you. I'm starting school and you're off to do god knows what. When will I see you again?"

"Don't worry I have a feeling that we will be seeing each other again soon and I'm always just a letter away."

"Promise?" Ginny asked in a small voice.

"I promise, and have I broken a promise I made with you yet?"

"No"

"Then trust me when I say we'll be seeing each other again soon," Henry said with a slight smile.

"Okay… It's going to be so weird this year, my first year at Hogwarts without at least one of my older brothers there."

"You're going to do great," the couple sat enjoying each other's presence as Ginny drank her tea and Henry stared at the cold cup of coffee he held in his hands.

"So you still can't tell me what you're going to be doing while I'm away," Henry smiled at Ginny's question that she had been asking every night.

"Well as I've already told you we're going to begin training the Aurors but that's all I can tell you, the rest is classified. But you already know that," Henry said with a chuckle. Ginny tried to pout at him but couldn't keep a straight face as a smile came to her face. Henry got up from his seat to refill his cup with coffee, feeling Ginny's eyes on him the entire time, "So, tell me again how you're going to bring the quidditch cup to Gryffindor just like your older brothers." Ginny smiled at him before launching into her plans as captain for the team during the upcoming year.

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The next day Ginny was awoken at 10 by her mother, and she immediately wished that she hadn't stayed up so late the night before. _But it might be the last time I'll be able to speak with him so it was worth it_, she thought as she rose from her bed to take a shower and get ready for the trip to school. After dressing Ginny made her way down the stairs with her trunk, leaving it on the ground floor before going down to the kitchen, upon reaching the kitchen Ginny saw her mother working at the stove while Henry and his team sat at the table joined by Remus and Tonks. "Morning everybody," Ginny said as she took an open seat next to Henry who smiled at her as the room greeted her in return.

"Eat up Ginny, we have to leave soon," her mother said placing a plate of food in front of her. As she began to eat Ginny looked to the other people at the table, Frank and Connor sat at the end of the table dressed in those strange green clothes discussing some plan. Turning to Henry who sat next to her and Jake sitting across from him she noticed they were wearing muggle suits rather than what the others wore.

"What's with the suits?" Ginny said in between bites of her breakfast. Henry turned to look at her with a smile.

"We get the honor of escorting you and your mother to the platform, the suits make us look professional."

"They will make you stick out like a sore thumb on the platform though," Ginny said.

"That's kind of the point," Jake said looking up from his food, "we want to send the message that you are being protected to discourage any further attempts to kidnap you."

"Oh," Ginny said before focusing her attention on her breakfast, finishing the meal in silence. When they finished eating the clock read 10:30 and they rose from the table. Henry withdrew a piece of rope from his pocket and held it out for Jake, Ginny, and Mrs. Weasley to grab before it took them to the platform. As Ginny heard Henry's countdown reach zero she felt the grab of the portkey at her navel and was whisked away from the kitchen.

Feeling her feet touch the pavement Ginny caught a glimpse of the platform before the forms of Henry and Jake blocked her vision as they blocked the two women from the crowd on the platform. Ginny began to follow Jake with her mother as Henry walked behind them, the group made their way through the crowd of students and parents who were saying their goodbyes. Feeling the eyes of multiple people on her Ginny moved closer to her mother and noticed Henry moving closer. Coming to the entrance for the express Ginny turned to her mother to say goodbye, "Now be good dear, and stay safe," her mother said. Ginny moved in to hug her mum before speaking.

"I will be mum, don't worry so much. I love you."

"I love you too dear, now I'm sure there is another goodbye you're more anxious to get to," Mrs. Weasley said with a wink. Ginny blushed slightly before turning to Henry who was watching the crowd, coming behind him Ginny tapped him on the shoulder causing him to turn around.

"Hey," he said with a smile.

"I'm going to miss you and I'm holding you to that promise," Ginny said with a serious look on her face. Henry just laughed before opening his arms for a hug; Ginny moved in to the embrace and enjoyed the feeling of safety it caused.

"Don't worry, I know what I'm talking about," she heard him say before moving away from him. She felt him squeeze her shoulders before saying, "You better go before you miss the train." Ginny sent one last smile at him before turning and entering the train. Walking through the train Ginny came to the end before finding her friends and entering the compartment. Immediately she was brought into a hug by one of her best friends Colin as Luna looked on with a smile.

"It's so good to see you, your kidnapping was in the papers and we were so relieved to hear that you were rescued. How did they find you? The Prophet didn't have any details, just that you were rescued." Ginny took a seat across from the two as Colin finished speaking.

"I can't say much about it, secrecy and all that, but I will say that I am forever grateful to them and so happy to be out of that place.

"We are all grateful to whoever rescued you Ginerva, and I must say that you seem to have gotten rid of the Nargle problem you had last year." Ginny could only smile at her odd friend before shaking her head and turning to the window as Luna went back to her Quibbler and Colin left to check in with some of their other friends.

As she watched the landscape fly past the window Ginny found her mind drifting to where it often had the past few weeks, Henry. She had admitted to herself that she had developed a slight crush on her savior, well not that slight, but she couldn't help the feeling of comfort and safety she felt in his presence. Or how he was always there to help her talk about her nightmares or just sit there in silence if that was what she wanted. She loved the talks they had shared the past week and how he didn't treat her like a child. Yea Ginny had to admit that Henry Peters was unlike any other boy, no man, that she had ever met. Continuing to ponder these thoughts Ginny drifted to sleep as the train continued barreling towards Hogwarts.

Ginny was shaken awake by Luna who told her that they were getting close and she better change. Rising from her seat Ginny stretched before changing into her school uniform, after taking her seat again the door opened and Colin came back into the compartment. "So Ginny you ready for the quidditch season?"

"More than ready, the other teams aren't going to know what hit them," Ginny said with a feral smile as the express pulled into Hogsmeade. Gathering their trunks the trio moved to the hallway and exited the train to join the sea of students making their way to the carriages. Waving to the familiar form of Hagrid Ginny and her friends entered a carriage along with two fifth year Ravenclaws. Ginny looked towards the castle to enjoy the view that never failed to give her chills even after all these years. After exiting the carriage, they made their way to the great hall and took their seats at the Gryffindor table. Shortly after sitting the first years were led in by McGonagall to be sorted. Ginny barely paid attention to the students sorting, only applauding when her housemates did, her mind focused on the food that would follow. She was brought back to the world when Dumbledore stood to address the students.

"Now before we all tuck in to the delicious feast that has been prepared for us I have a few last minute announcements. As always the Forbidden forest is just that, forbidden, Mr. Filch would like me to remind you that a list of banned items can be found on his door and finally the castle will be hosting guests for the upcoming year. In the dark times we find ourselves in I felt an extra measure of security was necessary, so I have invited a group of highly trained individuals that have been leading the fight against Voldemort to come to the castle and they have agreed. These men are not to be messed with and will respond with force if pushed so I ask all of you to let them do their jobs. It is my pleasure to introduce the men of the 22nd SAS." With that Ginny's draw dropped as she turned to the doors to the great hall that had opened to allow Henry and his team followed by four other men all dressed in the odd green clothes she had seen them wear before. As they came down the middle of the hall Ginny tried her best to glare at Henry as he walked past but could not maintain it as he winked at her. Coming to the front of the hall the men spread into a line in front of the teachers table as Connor stepped forward to address the students.

"Like the headmaster said we are here to protect you and we are very good at our jobs, as he said please don't interfere with our work. However, with that said we want you to come to us if you ever feel unsafe here and we will try to deal with the problem. We look forward to a pleasant and productive year and thank you for allowing us to be here." After he finished speaking the team moved to an empty section at the Gryffindor table and began to eat as the attention of the hall remained on them and whispers began. As others in the hall began to eat Ginny couldn't take it anymore and stood from the table, making her way to where Henry sat to let him know how she felt about his surprise. Moving down the table she saw him look up at her as if feeling her gaze, Henry spoke to Jake next to him who then moved down the table opening a spot.

"Ginny, how nice to see you, please take a seat," Henry said with a cheeky grin. She took the seat next to him but continued to glare.

"You couldn't have told me?" she whispered with narrow eyes.

"Where would the fun in that be?" Henry said with a laugh before leaning in, "besides, I kept my promise didn't I."

With that, Ginny felt her anger deflate as she shook her head and muttered, "Arse."

"What was that Ms. Weasley?" she heard Jake say on her other side. Sighing in frustration as the men beside her laughed Ginny began to fill her plate with food as the conversation at the table shifted away from her. Ginny began enjoying the meal as she joined in the conversation answering questions about Hogwarts and its inhabitants.

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As the opening feast was drawing to a close Henry saw Jake motion to him and they both rose from the table. "Well Ginny I'm afraid we must be off, I'll see you tomorrow," Henry said sending her one last smile before he followed Jake out of the hall. The two made their way out of the castle and started towards the Forbidden Forest.

A few hours later found the soldiers walking through the forest taking note of the layout and inhabitants, already they had a close call with some Acromantula's and a rather interesting encounter with a Centaur. Walking through the forest Henry thought about the redhead he had parted with earlier. Perhaps it was because of the rescue, or the nightmares they shared or maybe he just lacked interaction with the opposite sex but for some reason he could not deny that she was special. They way she had come back from her ordeal to be fiery and determined when others would have been destroyed impressed him to no ends. She had spirit that was for sure. He also could not help the need to protect her that he felt. Coming back to reality as they exited the forest the two made their way to the castle, they met up with Sirius as they entered the castle and followed him to the headmaster's office. Entering the office Henry saw Dumbledore and his other two teammates waiting, "Good now that you're here we can begin. Peters what's your report on the forest." After Connor spoke, Henry rose and began his strategic report on the forest and how to defend it. The group talked late in to the night hearing reports for the forest, castle, and Hogsmeade and discussed how to defend in case of attack. After the meeting was finished the group parted with Henry and Jake making their way to their quarters for the year, coming to a portrait of a knight Henry spoke the password 'who dares wins'. Stepping through the door revealed he entered the wing of rooms they were occupying followed by Jake.

"Should be an interesting year, lots of pretty birds to look at," Jake said with a laugh. "Think I might take a pass at one or two, too bad you're already taken."

"What are you on about, I'm free to do as I please."

"Oh please, I'm talking about your favorite redhead, you're done for even if you don't know it yet," Jake continued to smile as Henry turned away and moved to his room.

"You're full of it, we are just friends. Get to sleep we have a busy day tomorrow," Henry entered his room after speaking and prepared for bed. Sleep came quick that night and for once, he was spared the nightmares that usually plagued him.

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The next morning found Henry and the other soldiers up before the sun waiting outside of Hogwarts for the Aurors to report for training. At exactly 5:30am, a group of 30 witches and wizards appeared facing away from the soldiers, most of group still looked half-asleep. Exchanging a look the soldiers moved towards the Aurors with smiles as Connor began yelling at the top of his lungs disturbing the quiet morning.

"Alright you sorry sons of bitches it's time to wake the fuck up!" Many of the trainees who hadn't noticed the soldiers jumped at the scream and turned to the source. "Now we're going to have some fun this morning, I want to see three lines of 10 in front of me in five seconds now!" The wizards scrambled around as the soldiers yelled at them from all sides until the lines formed. "We're gonna start with a little run around the lake and I swear to god if any of you don't keep pace I'm going to personally see that your life here is a living hell, now let's go." The group set off with Connor and Henry setting a brisk pace as the other soldiers flanked the trainees. As the group of Aurors made their way around the lake to where they started some started to slow and sighed in relief.

"I don't know why the hell you are stopping, who told you to stop. Keep running," Frank's voice rang out at the trainees that had begun to slow.

"One more time ladies, let's go." Connor said continuing around the lake yet again. By the time the group game made it around the lake for the second time most of the Aurors were doubled over trying to catch their breaths or lying on the ground completely spent.

"Pathetic, you are supposed to be the ones protecting the wizarding world? That wasn't even 10km, now were going to do some exercises and begin physical combat. Partner up," the trainees spit into pairs and looked back to Connor. "Now watch this move carefully…" Connor began to show the wizards the basics of physical combat. After covering the basics, Connor set them off to spar with each other as the soldiers moved around and corrected them.

Three hours later after breaking for a 20-minute lunch the group found themselves on the grounds again waiting for Connors instructions. "Follow me we need to see if you're fit to call yourselves wizards." Moving to the forest the rest of the group followed Connor, walking for a few minutes before coming to a clearing where they saw multiple target ranges had been constructed. " Now you have all been issued these wrist holsters for you wands correct?" Receiving nods Connor continued, " What I want you to do is step up to these ranges one at a time, with your wand in the holster, one of the five targets will appear and you are to draw and fire as fast as you can. Everyone who doesn't hit the target will step to the side and give me 20 pushups before getting back in line. Begin!" With that, the trainees split into four groups and the soldiers split to monitor each of the ranges.

Henry examined the Aurors in line at his range, slightly nodding at Ron who was in line, before speaking, "Well you heard the man, begin." The first wizard stepped to the range and there was silence for a few moments. When the target popped up the wizard clumsily drew his wand and fired a stunner that missed wide right. "Pushups now, next!" The rest of the Aurors fared about the same except for a few who were able to hit it, Ron among them. After five hours of practice, Connor called a halt to the firing.

"Cease fire, cease fire, now with minimal exceptions that shooting was utterly atrocious. But not to worry, now that we have a hold of you we're gonna make you into fighters." Connor and the rest of the team wore matching grins at this statement as more than one wizard gulped at the implications. "You all get off easy today because we aren't sure if you can take any more on your first day. So go home, get some rest, and get back here at tomorrow at the same time ready to work harder than you ever have. Dismissed!" Henry followed Connor and his team to the school leaving the Aurors to collapse to the ground in exhaustion.

Coming to the great hall for dinner Henry and the team took their seats where Ginny was already waiting. Filling his plate with food Henry turned to Ginny, "How were classes?" Ginny looked at him giving him a smile before answering.

"Same as always, Snape's a prick, McGonagall's strict, and Flitwick is short." Henry chuckled at her answer, "How was training?"

"As expected most are helpless right now, but a few showed promise including your brother." Henry said between bites. The conversation continued throughout dinner with the other soldiers jumping in at times. When dinner came to an end Henry stood and said to Ginny, "I'm off to get some sleep, early morning tomorrow."

"Night Henry."

"Night Ginny," giving her one last smile Henry turned and left the hall on the quest to get some much-needed rest.


	9. New Aquaintances

Merlin Protocol

Chapter 9

Nute

AN: Well I really don't have an excuse for how long it has taken me to get this out, but I am very happy with the results. This chapter started out like I planned but quickly changed and I feel that it is for the better. I already have about 1,000 words of the next chapter done so I'm hoping the wait for the next chapter won't be nearly as long. As always please review and let me know what you think, they really do have an impact on the story and my quest for inspiration.

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Two weeks into the Auror's training, Henry found himself in the Forbidden Forest at the clearing they had converted to training grounds. For most of the trainees the last two weeks had been some of the hardest of their lives, each day started with physical training that continued to get more and more intense. After physical training, they usually spent a few hours on physical combat followed by magical training that took up the rest of the day. Currently Henry was watching as the trainees were practicing their spell work at the firing range, he had to admit the difference from the first session was astounding, it seemed no one took the time to explain proper firing positions and techniques anymore.

Henry's thoughts were interrupted as Connor stopped the practice, "Cease fire, cease fire, holster your wands and fall in. Now were going to do something a little different than the last two weeks, we feel you have finally learned how to properly work your wands and now want to see how you do in a fight. Can I have 10 volunteers for a little demonstration?" Slowly hands were raised by a few of the trainees, most were wary to volunteer after experiencing the past two weeks. "Good, get up here front and center, now since you are all now capable of hitting targets with your spells it's time to put those skills to use. You lot," Connor said turning to the trainees in front of him, "are going to fight me and my team. We will only be using magic to even the odds and Peters over there will only be using his wand, got that Peters?"

"You got it boss," Henry said with a nod.

"Good, now rules, anything goes except for unforgivable and other lethal curses. Take you places and we'll begin." The other trainees stepped back from the soldiers and their comrades who were standing opposite each other ready to go. "Weasley count us down," Connor said to Ron who was standing on the sidelines.

"3…2…1…Go!" as soon as 'go' left his mouth the Aurors began to fire spells at the soldiers but the curses ricocheted off the shields created by Jake and Henry while Connor and Frank began to fire their own spells. After three of the trainees dropped, the remaining Aurors threw up shields to block the incoming fire. Seeing that they had the trainees suppressed the soldiers split with Henry and Jake running to the right, Connor, and Frank to the left, the pairs circled around the Aurors until they were attacking the group from the front and rear. With five trainees still standing the Aurors discipline failed, as they were unable to land a hit on the soldiers. It wasn't long before all of the trainees were unconscious on the ground and the squad moved to wake them up. When all of the men were up and moving, Connor addressed the trainees.

"Now you saw what happened there, a smaller force was able to take down a larger but less skilled force through coordination and strategy. At the beginning of the fight we broke into two groups and positioned ourselves so both men could fit behind one shield, from there we coordinated our fire and shielding to trim the enemy until they went completely defensive. When that happened we split up and continued to fire to suppress the enemy, moving to flank them we created confusion and hesitation about what to do. From there it was just a matter of time before they fell. The moral of this story people is this, alone you're only as good as the man next to you but together you can be great." Silence rang over the clearing as Connor drew the pause out. "Now what I want to see right now is groups of two, you're going to be fighting other groups utilizing the principles I just went over. I want to see teamwork and coordination and remember; out there, each other is all you have. Now let's go." With that, the trainees broke into pairs before the men matched the teams to fight each other. After a signal from Connor the fights began under the soldiers' supervision, they would watch the fight until one team had won before tearing both teams apart to drive home the consequences mistakes could have.

A few hours later Connor stopped the practice before dismissing the trainees for the day. As the group of Aurors walked towards the gates that would take them out of the wards Jake turned to the rest of the squad to ask, "Anyone fancy a pint?"

"Definitely," Frank said with the rest of the squad nodding in agreement.

"Who's buying the first round?" Henry asked.

"How about we decide the old fashion way," Connor said motioning to the target range. "First one to miss a target buys the first round." The soldiers agreed to the competition before stepping up to the range and un-holstering their pistols.

"Need someone to count you down?" a voice asked from behind them, turning around Henry saw his godfather walking towards the range. Connor motioned for him to do the honors and the group turned back to the range. "Ok, on 3, 1…2…3," when Sirius reached three targets began to appear down range only to be rapidly destroyed by the soldiers fire. The contest continued for a few minutes with the soldiers reloading and continuing to fire, as the shooting continued it looked like the group was going to be out there a while. Eventually the firing ended when Jake missed a target.

"Son of a bitch, I definitely hit that," Jake said shaking his head.

"Well it looks like the first round's on Jake boys, let's go I'm quite parched," Connor said smiling at the still cursing Jake. The group, which now included Sirius, left the clearing they used for training and made their way towards the gates that would take them to Hogsmeade. After entering the town, the group quickly made their way to the Three Broomsticks. Entering the bar took a table in the corner before Jake and Henry went to the bar to get the drinks.

"5 lagers please," Jake said as Henry came next to him placing his back to the bar to watch the crowd. Taking the drinks back to their table Henry saw that Ron and Neville had joined their group and were in a conversation with Sirius and Connor. Setting the drinks on the table Henry took his seat next to Sirius who said.

"It seems Mr. Weasley and Mr. Longbottom had the same idea as us so I figured the more the merrier. It will give us a chance to know some of the trainees better.

"How's it going Ron, Neville," Henry asked the two.

"Not too bad we just really felt the need for a drink after training today," Neville said before taking a sip of his beer. At his statement the soldiers at the table began to chuckle.

"You think this is bad? You don't even want to know the shit we've had to go through, especially at the Academy." Jake said with the others nodding their heads, "But honestly I'm impressed with how far you all have come in this short time, especially you two, you guys were a great team out there today." After that, the group settled into conversation getting to know each other. Two hours and quite a few pints later the group was still going strong when Ron asked the question that had been on his mind ever since meeting the soldiers.

"So what's it like killing someone?" The table fell silent for a few moments before Connor spoke.

"You get used to it, the first couple are a little off but if you're out there and it's them or you, you never hesitate. I still remember my first, some Russian in god knows where Afghanistan. We were there in support of the native fighters to help repel the Russian invasion. My squad was tasked with hitting a convoy behind enemy lines, after blowing the first car we opened fire. I can still see this kid, couldn't have been older than 17 fall from my fire as he got out of his truck." Connor fell silent as he took a drink from his beer and looked around the table.

"My first was in the Falkands," Frank spoke from next to Connor.

"Mine was when we rescued your sister," Jake said.

"Mine too," Henry told them. The group of men fell into silence as they reflected on what they had just been told.

"Enough of that, so Mr. Weasley how is your lady friend, what's her name, that's right Hermione."

Ron blushed slightly before saying, "She's good, we were supposed to go get dinner tonight but she got held up at school so I asked Neville if he wanted to get a drink."

"Well it's a good thing you did because now that you have graced us with your presence we are going to continue to drink, and keep drinking until someone at this table is no longer conscious." Frank spoke from beside Connor with a smile as he raised his pint to the two trainees. The rest of the squad broke out in laughter at Frank's statement and the men around the table fell into conversation, sharing stories from the past and thoughts of the future long into the night.

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The next morning Henry found himself outside the statue guarding the headmaster's office with Jake at eight in the morning. After running the trainees through their physical training Connor had Frank and Jake take over the rest of the morning's training as he and Henry went to meet with Sirius, the Major, and Dumbledore to discuss their next move. Entering the headmaster's office Henry nodded at the occupants of the room before taking a seat facing the others in the room.

"Thank you for coming, I felt it necessary to discuss the recent developments with our enemy and our plan moving forward. Headmaster we felt it pertinent to include you in this conversation because of the group you lead and the information we could gain from your operatives. Even with the result of our previous operation together we recognize the value that your organization has and hope that we can be close allies in this current conflict." The major spoke to the headmaster.

"I am very grateful to be included major, I too hope that together we can mount a more effective effort against Voldemort." As the headmaster spoke, his eyes retained their ever-present twinkle and the others in the room could see the cogs figuratively turning in the old man's head.

"Now to business, our sources indicate that the enemy is now aware of our presence and he views us as an unknown. The efficiency of our attacks have given him pause so at the moment it appears he is choosing to lay low and plan his next moves carefully. Since our initial attacks it appears they have created new safe houses and training facilities, we are trying to discern their locations as we speak. However, as of now all our previous Intel is no longer valid. In addition, we have been unable to find any leads on how our last operation was blown, so as of now we are assuming the information was intentionally leaked with the goal of drawing us out or exposing spies. Headmaster have your operatives been able to discover anything else?" The major looked to Dumbledore as he finished speaking. The others in the room were still digesting the information and thinking about how it affected their plans when the headmaster responded.

"They have reported much of the same; Voldemort is currently trying to find out more about you and your men and planning his next move carefully." Dumbledore spoke, folding his hands in front of him and looking on in contemplation.

"Major, has intel been able to get an accurate count on the number of hostile forces?" Murphy spoke from his seat next to Henry.

"Not yet captain but our best estimates put the number of active hostiles in the country around 3,000. We face a large and fierce enemy gentlemen, and history has shown that force must be met with force." The major spoke, "on another note we face another threat to our effort. The non-magical parliament has been making inquiries into the recent conflict in which their armed forces have been involved. The prime minister should be able to stall them for some time but if we lose their support, it will not be good. For now Murphy your orders are to continue the training of the Aurors and remain alert, we are currently trying to gather workable intelligence on foreign Death Eater activity which has been on the rise."

"Rodger sir, we'll be ready when the call comes." Murphy said when Taylor finished speaking.

"Good now that is all, I believe you have a training session to get to boys." At that, the two soldiers stood from their seats offering the major a salute before leaving the room to return to the Auror's training.

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Later that day after the Aurors had left; Henry was picked to put away the day's equipment before heading back to the castle. After stowing the gear in a secure shed to the side of their clearing in the forest Henry slung his pack over his shoulder and began to walk towards the castle with thoughts of his warm bed in his head. Coming to the edge of the forest Henry set off for the main door to the castle before he froze upon hearing a laugh that was too cruel to result from an innocent joke. It spoke of the arrogance and cruelty he was all too familiar with, it resulted from punishing those one thought were below them and taking pleasure in it.

Dropping his gear Henry drew his seldom-used wand from its holster as he made his way towards the laughing. Judging the sounds Henry guessed there were at least four assailants and an unknown number of victims, though he could only hear one voice whimpering. Moving from tree to tree Henry finally got a view of his targets, the four boys who he thought to be at least sixth or seventh years were gathered around a young girl with platinum blonde hair who had curled into herself. The boys were laughing as they cast curses and hexes at the girl who Henry guessed was a second year at most. Feeling his rage build at the sight of the helpless girl Henry stepped out from his cover and swept his wand in a broad arc sending the red bolt of a stunning hex at the four attackers. The students were caught by surprise and all fell under the soldier's attack. When he was sure the assailants were down Henry moved to each of the boys and pocketed their wands before coming to the young girl who was on the brink of unconsciousness. Henry took one look at her before bounding the attackers together to ensure they would stay put. Picking up the girl Henry cradled her to his chest, careful not to aggravate any injuries as he made his way to the castle. Looking down at the girl his eyes met her half-open ones, seeing the girl conscious he spoke to her, "it's okay, you're safe now. Nothing's going to happen to you ever again." The girl in his arms sported a faint smile before her eyes closed again and she lost consciousness. Entering the castle Henry was grateful that dinner was in full swing as he moved past the great hall.

"Henry?" he froze hearing the familiar voice of Ginny Weasley as she left the great hall. Only pausing for a second Henry looked back at Ginny before motioning to her to follow him. Continuing on to the hospital wing Henry felt his redhead friend come to his side, she took one look at the girl in his arms before saying, "What happened to her?"

"Later," was her only response as they passed through the doors of the hospital wing. "Madame Pomfrey!" His yell brought the witch out of her office, she moved towards them eyeing the girl in his arms.

"Oh my, Miss Wilson, please set her on this bed." Henry laid the girl on the bed before moving away letting the healer work on the young girl.

"Henry what happened to Ellie?" he heard Ginny speak from his side as they watched the healer work.

"You know her?"

"Of course, she is a first year Gryffindor, very bright from the conversations I've had with her." Ginny said with a mournful expression at what had happened to the girl.

"Well I was walking back to the school from training when I heard a voice in the forest. The voice was laughing; it put me on edge so I went to check it out. When I finally got to the source I saw this girl on the ground as four older students were hexing her, I stunned the assailants and confiscated their wands before bringing her here. Speaking of which I need to inform Connor of this," Henry said with an official tone Ginny did not recognize on her friend. "Kilo 1-1 this is Kilo 1-4, there are four hostile students bound at the edge of the forest. I disabled them in the act of assaulting a student and bound them for later pick up."

"Rodger 1-4 I'm sending 1-2 and 1-3 to collect them now, you stay with the victim and make sure she stays safe until we can collect the students." With that, Henry dropped the pack he had thrown over his back and sank into a chair next to the young girl. He gave Ginny a smile as the girl sat in the chair next to him. The two fell into a comfortable silence as they watched the still form on the bed before them. After some time Henry gave a deep sigh before leaning forward burying his face in his hands. Noticing his change Ginny moved her hand to his shoulder and spoke,

"How are you doing Henry?" Henry turned to Ginny with his head still resting on his hands and smiled tiredly at her before he spoke.

"I suppose everything's just hitting me at one, I don't know but seeing this innocent girl hurt made me think of when we rescued you. I promised myself then that I wouldn't let another innocent get hurt if I had anything to do with it. Now we are supposed to be the security for the castle and we couldn't prevent this." Henry looked upon the girl laid before him with a sad expression before Ginny grabbed his arm and spoke.

"Listen Henry, you're not god, there is no way you can save everyone from everything. But look at it this way, you saved Ellie from whatever they had planned for her in the end and that is something to be proud of. Besides, you saved me and that's the most important thing right." She said with a smile as she took his hand and looked upon the girl.

"Too right," Henry said giving her hand a squeeze before relaxing in his chair and preparing to wait until the young girl woke up.

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Later that evening found Henry still sat beside the young girl's bed, with Ginny dozing off next to him and resting her head on his shoulder. As he kept watch over the both of the girls, the doors to the hospital wing opened and he felt another presence enter and move towards them. Henry tensed up prepared to defend the two girls before he recognized the familiar magic of Sirius come behind him.

"How is she?" Henry heard his godfather's voice speak.

"Pomfrey says that she will be fine, just needs some time to heal." Henry paused before looking to his godfather. "When I saw her I couldn't help but think of Sarah from back home, they're about the same age." Sirius smirked as he remembered the young girl back in the states that had attached herself to Henry from the first time they met. They had become close and Henry was still fiercely protective of the girl. "What happened to her attackers?"

"They were expelled, this wasn't their first attack on a muggleborn and they seemed particularly drawn to Miss Wilson. I tried to push for Azkaban but they were all from notable families so nothing would stick."

"At least they are out of the school," Henry said and Sirius nodded.

"How are you doing pup? We haven't had much time to talk since I got back into the country." Sirius looked at the young man he considered a son as he asked his question.

"I'll be fine Sirius; it's a lot to take in isn't it?"

"Aye, I still remember the last war. I only fear that this is just the beginning, but don't worry we'll get through whatever they can throw at us. Together," the two men looked at each other matching the others determined gaze. "And it seems our numbers have grown, haven't they?" Sirius's eyes shifted to the girl deeply sleeping on Henry's shoulder.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Henry said looking anywhere other than his godfather.

"You may be able to lie to yourself Henry, but you can't lie to me. You haven't been able to get anything past me since you were 12."

"Really?"

"Yes really, did you think I wouldn't find out about you and, what was her name? Yes, that's right Mary, Mary from down the street while I was out of town when you were 16. Besides that girl has been your shadow when you have free time since we got here." It was true, whenever Henry wasn't at training, on patrol or planning with his team he was usually found in the company of Ginny. They ate all of their meals together and when he was free in the evenings they would practice flying or be found in the library where Henry would help Ginny with her homework while pursuing his own interests.

"You knew about that?" Henry exclaimed trying to keep his voice down as not to wake Ginny while Sirius chuckled lightly.

"Yes I knew about that, now are you going to quit lying to me about your feelings towards Miss Weasley?"

"I don't know Sirius, of course I like her, what's not to like? She's smart, funny, beautiful and so much stronger than she looks."

"But…?"

"But I can't get involved with her, one, she is someone I'm tasked to protect, two, I can't put her in that kind of danger and finally, I'm no good for her." Henry looked down after he spoke, picking at his fingers. He heard Sirius growl slightly before hearing.

"What do you mean you're no good for her?"

"I'm damaged, you know how my life was and now I've killed so many people Sirius. I have too much blood on my hands for someone as good and pure as her to be interested in me." Henry looked to the sleeping girl next to him as he spoke. Feeling his godfather grab his arm Henry turned away from Ginny.

"Listen to me Henry, you are the best person I know. You remind me so much of both your parents, if anybody deserves to be happy, it's you. I know that your life has been tough, especially lately, but I want you to remember that you're not like them. You fight to protect those you love and do what you must to ensure their safety. The blood you have spilled has been in the name of justice, now I want you to listen to me. I believe that you have a very good opportunity in front of you," Sirius redirected his gaze at the still sleeping girl. "I think you should take that opportunity, you deserve it."

"Thank you Sirius, logically I understand what you're saying but it's just hard to come to terms with it. I will admit that I do want more with Ginny but you have to let me do it at my own pace."

"Glad to hear it pup, you should get some sleep you still have training tomorrow. She needs to get to bed too," Sirius motioned to the sleeping Ginny as he spoke. Henry nodded in agreement before gently waking the sleeping girl up.

"Wha… What's going on?" Ginny spoke, still half asleep as she sat up in her seat.

"You need to get back to your dorm, Sirius can you walk her back? I want to stay a little bit longer," Henry helped Ginny from her seat as he spoke to his godfather. "I'll see you tomorrow?" he said to the drowsy girl.

"Of course," she responded before hugging him tightly causing his godfather to smirk as he returned the hug. She left with Sirius, and Henry took his seat next to the blonde girl once again. The young man began to doze off as the first hint of sunlight came over the horizon. Falling deeper and deeper into slumber Henry was drawn back to reality by sounds of movement in front of him. Opening his eyes he was met with two shockingly blue eyes peeking out at him from under the covers the girl had drawn over herself. Sitting up in his seat Henry spoke to the girl.

"Hey, it's good to see you awake. How are you feeling?"

"F..Fine," the girl said still hiding under the protection of her covers.

"I'm Henry, what's your name?"

"Ellie"

"Well Ellie it is nice to meet you, you remind me of a good friend I have back home. Would you like to be my friend?" Ellie's eyes stared back into his as she assessed the man before her. Coming to a decision the girl spoke.

"I would like that."

"Great, now why don't you come out of those blankets so I can get a good look at you and make sure you're alright." After Henry finished speaking, the girl slowly emerged from her place of hiding. "There we go, I knew there was a pretty face under there," smiling at the younger girls blush Henry continued. "Now that we're friends Ellie I'm going to make you a promise, nobody is going to hurt you again if I can help it. There's no need to be scared okay?"

"Okay…" she said looking down at her lap. Henry looked at his watch noticing he was already late for the morning training session.

"I have to go now but I'll send Madame Pomfrey in so you won be alone, I'll come see you tonight okay?" Receiving a nod Henry rose from his chair and gave the girl a brief hug before fetching the matron and leaving for the days training.

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AN: When I started writing this chapter I had no plans or thoughts of Ellie, but an idea came to me last week and it was too good to pass up. You will be seeing more of her in the future.


	10. Down Range

Merlin Protocol

Chapter 10

Down Range

Nute

A/N: Well I'm back with another chapter of Merlin Protocol, I hope you enjoy and as always please review.

November 4, 1998

Over the past month, Henry and his team had adapted to the lifestyle at Hogwarts. The training of the Aurors had been progressing impressively, during that time the soldiers had begun teaching the wizards about non-magical combat and strategies in addition to the magical curriculum. During that time, Henry had fulfilled his promise to tell Ginny all about his life in America, although he refused to discuss the details of his life before then. He has also gained another friend in the castle in the form of Ellie Watson; the small, blonde haired first year had bounced back from her attack and grown attached to the young soldier. The girl showed a sharp intellect and wicked sense of humor only seen around those she was close too. Shortly after the attack, Ginny had taken Ellie under her wing when Henry asked her to keep an eye on the girl. Unable to refuse either of the girls Henry often found himself in the library after dinner helping them with homework. Other times the trio was at the Quidditch pitch where Henry was either just flying around with Ginny or teaching the basics of flying to Ellie. Thinking about the last month a small smile came over Henry's face as he made his way to the Great Hall with his team after the day's training.

Sitting down at the Gryffindor table Henry was joined by Ginny and Ellie on either side, grinning at both of the girls he filled his plate before digging into his dinner. Listening to the conversation around him Henry was enjoying his meal when he felt a jolt of electricity shoot down his leg. Reaching into his pocket Henry withdrew the communicator he carried on him when he wasn't wearing a radio. Seeing his teammates doing the same Henry read the message displayed on the screen.

_Kilo 1 and 2 downrange in 30. 3 and 4 hold at HW. _Seeing those around him rise Henry stood from his seat turning to Ginny who looked at him curiously before speaking, "What's going on?"

"Duty calls, I'll see you two when I get back." Henry drew Ginny into a hug before releasing her and doing the same for the young blond haired girl on his other side. "I'll be back before you know it," turning from the table Henry caught up with his team as they left the hall. Coming to the wing they were lodged at the two met Connor, Frank and Sirius before entering their quarters. Upon entering, Henry saw Kilo 2 geared up and waiting for the briefing, taking the open seats in the makeshift briefing room the soldiers fell silent before Sirius spoke.

"Listen up, we have received Intel on the location of a lead foreign Death Eater, Hans Merek, seen here." Sirius motioned to the picture now displayed on the wall before continuing, "We believe he heads the recruitment and training of German Death Eaters, some of whom you've already met." Sirius paused, looking at the men before continuing, "This opportunity presents a wealth of useful information for our cause that is too good to pass up. In addition, the German government has granted us permission to pursue these terrorists and have tasked a squad of their GSG, call sign Jaeger 1, to be our support. This is the compound where we believe he is located," changing the projected image Sirius continued. "It is a two-story structure surrounded on all sides by at least 50 meters of open field. Our Intel places anywhere from 10 to 20 hostiles in the structure with minimal wards but patrolling guards, so I want each squad's sharpshooter outfitted with the necessary equipment. Here is the plan, both teams will take a portkey depositing them five clicks from the target on either side. From there you will move to the target on foot before launching an assault on the building from both the front and back entry points. Eliminate any hostiles and capture the target at all costs, when the building is secured I want any Intel gathered before you exfil back here. Any questions?" after a few moments of silence Sirius spoke again. "Good now let's go get it done, and remember no one gets left behind. Portkeys will deploy in 15 minutes everyone get geared up."

Rising from his seat, Henry moved to his room. Opening his trunk Henry changed into his combats before strapping his vest to his chest and inserting his sidearm into the holster on his thigh. Seeing Jake enter his room geared up Henry opened another compartment of his trunk Henry withdrawing a rifle along with multiple magazines before hearing Jake speak.

"What are we in Vietnam?" Jake said motioning to the modified M-14 rifle Henry was loading.

"Fuck off, this was a gift from one of my instructors, besides with this I could hit your tiny dick from over 800 yards. So I'd watch what you say about her," Henry cocked the rifle as he finished speaking before flicking the safety.

"Her?"

"Of course her, with the amount of love and time I've put into her I love her as much as any other girl in my life." Henry heard Jake chuckle after he spoke.

"I don't know about _any_ girl in your life but definitely more than most. Let's get moving the portkey leaves in five." Henry followed Jake out to the common room where Kilo 2 and the rest of his team were waiting. Gathering around the portkey with his team Henry looked up into the eyes of his brothers, seeing the focus and dedication on their faces he took a deep breath before feeling the familiar tug at his navel that signaled the portkey's activation.

Feeling his feet make contact with solid ground Henry raised his rifle mirroring the movements of his team as they cleared the landing area. "Clear," Henry called followed by the rest of his team before they regrouped.

"Okay we have five clicks till the target, I want Frank on point and Jake bringing up the rear. Let's move out, maintain light and noise discipline." Nodding at Murphy's orders the men began to move towards their objective. "Kilo 2-1 this is Kilo 1-1 we are en route to the target, what is your status, over."

"Copy Kilo 1-1, we are moving, will make contact when in position. Kilo 2-1 out." The men kept moving as the radio went silent; focusing on their surroundings, they made their way through the forest. As the trees began to thin Connor raised a fist causing the men to take a knee before Connor motioned them forward. "There's the target, Peters set up there and get me eyes on any hostiles, the rest of you spread out while I raise Kilo 2."

"Rodger boss," Henry said moving to a fallen tree, resting his rifle on the steady platform as the rest of his team took defensive positions.

"Kilo 2-1 we are in position, what is your status?"

"This is Kilo 2-1 we are coming into position now."

"Copy that, deploy your sharpshooter then ready the rest of your team. Jaeger-1 this is Kilo 1 what is your situation?" Henry heard Connor radio the German Special Forces team on standby.

"Kilo 1 this is Jaeger-1, we are fully prepped on standby. We await your call for assistance," Henry heard a heavily accented voice speak through the radio.

"Copy that Jaeger-1 good to know," spotting movement and focusing his sights on the patrolling target Henry spoke into his radio.

"This is Kilo 1-4, I have eyes on one patrolling guard."

"Copy Kilo 1-4 this is Kilo 2-3, I have eyes on the second guard. Does anyone have eyes on a third?" Hearing the voice in his ear Henry kept his sights focused on the moving target 40 or so meters away.

"Negative, this is Kilo 1-1, two sentries is all we can spot. Prepare for go or no go. Control we are in position to assault the compound, we have two roaming patrols and an unknown number of hostiles inside. We are awaiting green light," Henry heard the soft click as he disengaged the safety on his rifle, followed by his teammates.

"Kilo you have a green light to proceed with the operation, remember your mission parameters. Control out," after the voice spoke Henry felt a tap on his shoulder as he was focusing on the target. Feeling the tap Henry heard Connor's voice over the radio.

"Kilo 2-3 this is Kilo 1-1 is your target acquired?"

"Rodger 1-1, I have a green light on my end." Moving his finger to the trigger of the rifle Henry heard Connor's voice in his ear.

"Prepare to fire, fire…fire…fire," a muffled crack marked the end of Connor's words as the two guards dropped from shots to the head. Standing from his position Henry flashed a series of hand signals to Connor.

"Kilo 2 we are clear to move to the target building. We are moving to the front, radio when your team is in position." Motioning to his team the men moved from their cover in the trees to form a line with the soldiers scanning their sectors as they moved to the two-story building. Lining up on the western side of the building, the team moved around the corner coming to the building's front. Stacking up on the main entrance Henry heard Connor whisper, "Frank, breaching charges." While Frank placed the charges on the door, Connor spoke into his radio. "2-1 we are in position preparing to breach."

"1-1 we are coming into position now, beginning to place charges over."

"Rodger 2-1, we are set to breach on two clicks."

"Copy 1-1 we are in position," stacking up behind Jake, Henry lowered his rifle before drawing his sidearm.

"Click…Click," at the second click, Frank squeezed the detonator in his hand blowing the door of its hinges as the team rushed through the opening. Following Jake, Henry heard the rapport of his teams' rifles before seeing bodies fall as he crossed the threshold. Entering the building, Henry saw a closed door to the right of the main entrance.

"Door right, clearing!" kicking open the door Henry focused on the figure still trying to rise out of bed. Squeezing the trigger, he quickly fired three shots that dropped the target before scanning the rest of the room. Hearing gunshots and spell fire from the rest of the house Henry quickly left the room to find his team. Stepping over the bodies of the fallen Henry regrouped with the rest of the soldiers at the bottom of a staircase where he saw a rapid stream of spell fire suppressing his squad. "Connor, flash bangs!" receiving a nod from his leader the soldiers withdrew flash grenades as others kept up the fire. Pulling the pin and tossing the canister up the stairs Henry waited for the 'BANG' before following a stream of men up the stairs. Practically deafened by the rapid fire of his fellow soldiers Henry came to the top of the stairs where he saw the man in front of him fall from a spell, painting Henry and the wall behind him with blood.

"One down in staircase A," Henry called through his radio. Moving past the fallen man Henry fired randomly in the direction the spell had come from as he took cover. Reloading before leaning around the corner Henry saw the hostile fall under his teams' fire. Moving to the last room, Henry stacked up with a mix of the two teams. Receiving a nod from Connor across from him Henry kicked open the door before throwing a flash bang. After the resulting distraction, Henry rushed into the room quickly dropping an enemy to his left before taking cover from spell fire. Peeking out Henry saw their target firing spells from behind his desk while the rest of the soldiers took cover. Drawing his wand Henry nodded to Connor who began to fire spells to suppress the enemy while Henry moved to another couch on his left. Creeping to the end of the couch Henry leaned out from his position to see the enemy fending off Connor's fire leaving his flank exposed. Firing a stunner and disarming hex Henry saw the Death Eater fall before moving to the target. Binding the hostile Henry heard a call through his radio.

"1-1 this is 2-2, Adams is in bad shape, requesting permission to for immediate exfil."

"Copy 2-2 get him out of here, everyone else gather any Intel you can find. Jaeger-1 requesting you move into defensive positions while we search the premises"

"Rodger Kilo 1-1, we are inbound to setup a defensive perimeter." Moving from the room Henry began to search for any information they would find useful. Finishing his search of a closet Henry heard.

"This is 1-3, you're gonna want to see this. Meet me on the ground floor," hearing Frank's voice Henry left the room he was searching and moved down the stairs. Meeting the rest of his team in the kitchen Henry saw Frank standing in front of another set of stairs leading underground.

"Intel didn't mention anything about a basement," Connor spoke as the men began moving down the stairs.

"I know, there's something not right about this," Frank responded. Reaching the bottom of the stairs Henry first noticed the size of the room he was entering; it had easily been expanded multiple times through magic. Moving into the room Henry saw obstacle courses and target ranges, with medical facilities and a headquarters off to the side. Coming closer to the target ranges Henry covered his nose as the stench of rotting flesh overwhelmed him. Seeing the chains and bloodstains at the range Henry could only conclude that the Death Eaters were using live targets for their practice.

"Fuck me," Henry heard Jake say as they all took in the room.

"We were not expecting this kind of organization. Everyone split up, I want all Intel gathered and charges set before we torch this fucker." At Connor's words, the men split to search the room they had discovered. Entering what appeared to be the headquarters with Frank, Henry saw a large room with multiple maps and blueprints stuck to the walls. Noticing pictures lining the far wall Henry made his way further into the room, seeing the familiar faces of Tonks, Lupin, and Shakelbolt Henry realized the pictures were profiles of the members of the Order of the Phoenix and the leaders of the Ministry of Magic.

"Frank, come take a look at this," Henry said as he took in the pictures on the wall. Frank moved to Henry before looking at the wall.

"Fuck, that's not good," he said looking at Henry. "Gather them and anything else you find, we'll pass it along." Nodding to Frank Henry ripped the pictures off the wall before moving to the rest of the room to do the same. After gathering all of the usable Intel Henry placed the C4 charges from his pack on the strategic points in the basement. Moving up the stairs with Frank, they met the rest of their team in the kitchen. Connor looked to his men before speaking.

"Portkey outside in five, let's move." Leaving the kitchen Henry followed his team out the back door, past the GSG and wizards from the German Ministry cleaning up the bodies of dead Death Eaters. Gathering around the portkey back to Hogwarts Henry heard Connor's voice over the radio.

"All teams clear the building; we are blowing the charges in two mikes." Seeing the men around the building clear the area Connor spoke again. "All teams check in, is the building clear?"

"Kilo 2 is clear."

"Jaeger 1 and the German Aurors are clear, you are good to blow." Hearing the voice over the radio Henry saw Connor pull the detonator out of his vest before looking at his team.

"Detonation in 5..4..3..2..1," reaching zero Connor squeezed the detonator causing a multitude of explosions in the building before them before it collapsed on itself. Taking one last look at the rubble before him Henry felt the pull of the portkey as he was taken back to Hogwarts.

###############################################################################################################

After their debriefing Henry and his team were informed of their brother's death, having succumbed to his injuries sustained during the fight. Upon hearing the news, the men felt it necessary to raise a glass to their fallen. However since it was three in the morning, they were forced to drink in the kitchens where the house elves supplied them with all the drinks they could ever need. Since they had been given the next day off, the team felt no need to leave the cheery atmosphere created by good drink and brother hood. After a few drinks Connor sobered up before looking to his men and raising his glass, "We lost a good man today, a fierce fighter that will be missed. But his death will not be in vain, to Adams!"

"To Adams!" the men all took long pulls from their drinks after the exclamation before silence rang for a few moments.

"That's enough boys, we're not yanks," Connor said smiling.

"Hey!" Henry yelled as the men all laughed at his look of indignation. The men fell back into conversation that lasted for a few more drinks before they all headed to get some much-needed sleep.

###############################################################################################################

In another part of the country, the Dark Lord Voldemort was just being informed of the soldiers' raid on the foreign training facility. With a slight frown, Voldemort realized this was not unexpected, "Were they able to capture Merek?"

"They believe so my Lord, but he was able to escape before they attacked. He left a double there but they will be discovering shortly that he isn't actually Merek."

"Good, everything shall continue as planned, but we shall have to move up our implementation. Bellatrix how goes your task?" The crazed witch stepped forward before bowing in front of her master.

"Excellent my Lord, most of our people are in place and the rest can be ready within months."

"See that it is done," turning to another of his Death Eaters the dark lord said." Barty what is your report on foreign recruitment?"

"As planned, most of our messengers have been met positively and our support continues to grow in multiple countries abroad."

"Speed up their training, I want the majority of our forces ready by the time Bella has completed her task."

"It will be done my Lord."

"That is all, you have your jobs do not let me down. Now go," the room emptied quickly after Voldemort spoke. Left alone with his thoughts the self-styled lord reflected on his plan. After the initial losses suffered from the muggle's attacks Voldemort realized the threat posed by that filth, and decided that they must be dealt with. Deciding he needed more information, he ordered his forces to gather any information they could find on the muggles that dare oppose him. During this time, he began laying his plans to achieve his true dream, a unified magical kingdom ruled by those with the purist blood and free from the filth of muggles and muggleborn. The United Kingdom and the world would bow before his might and all who opposed him would die.


End file.
